Level and determinants of job satisfaction among Saudi physicians working in primary health-care facilities in Western Region, KSA

Introduction: Job satisfaction is an important factor influencing the health of workers and is directly related to quality of care. Objectives: To assess the level of job satisfaction and factors contributing to dissatisfaction of Saudi physicians in primary health care centers in Jeddah. Methods All Saudi physicians working in primary health care centers in a city in the Western region, KSA, were included in this web-based survey using the "Job Satisfaction Survey" questionnaire adopted by Paul E. Spector (1994). In addition, socio-demographic data (age, sex, marital status, work facilities, qualification, work experience and income) were collected (response rate 83% ). Results: 63% of the physicians are satisfied about the nature of work in the primary health care centers, while 25.2% were satisfied about the payment. A large proportion of respondents were dissatisfied about the contingent rewards and fringe benefits (83.2%, 76.5%respectively). None of the specialists were satisfied about the work compared to 10.6% of the general practitioners. Conclusion: Slightly less than half of the physicians are satisfied. Financial incentives (contingent rewards and fringe benefits) impose a negative impact on job satisfaction for primary care physicians. On the other side, the nature of work has had the most positive impact on job satisfaction. Specialists were found to have less satisfaction. Investing in the physicians' satisfaction about the nature of work in the primary healthcare facilities to create a sense of ownership that would be reflected on the quality of patient care is required. There is a need to conduct further studies on the fiscal privileges that lead to job satisfaction among physicians.