Stress and the new contract for general practitioners

The impact of a major organizational change on general practitioners in the UK was assessed using a postal questionnaire during July-August 1990. The results were compared with those obtained in a previous survey in November 1987. A total of 917 (61 per cent response rate) general practitioners completed the questionnaire measuring aspects of the job causing stress, job satisfaction and mental wellbeing. Compared with 1987, doctors in 1990 experienced significantly decreased levels of job satisfaction and reported levels of somatic anxiety and depression were higher. The stress associated with the demands of the job and patients′ expectations, practice administration and routine medical work, role stress and the use of social support as a coping strategy were the strongest predictors of job dissatisfaction and poor psychological wellbeing.