The role of profession in associations between person-centred care and work-related health

Abstract Background Worldwide, the healthcare sector faces challenges in retaining healthcare professionals, often driven by work-related health factors such as job dissatisfaction and stress of conscience. Person-centred care (PCC)-a model emphasizing individual resources and needs, and shared decision-making-may help address these issues, though its impact across professional groups needs further attention to direct implementation strategies for PCC in primary care settings. This study aimed to explore the role of profession in associations between PCC and work-related health among primary care professionals. Methods A cross-sectional analysis was conducted using baseline data from the longitudinal PCC@Work project. A questionnaire on PCC and work-related health was distributed across professional groups; mainly registered nurses, physicians, psychologists, midwifes, and assistant nurses in western Sweden. Work-related health was measured using instruments on stress of conscience and job satisfaction. Results The results showed that among the 560 respondents, physicians reported the highest mean scores of stress of conscience and lowest of PCC, while assistant nurses scored comparatively low on both. Psychologists and midwives scored highest on PCC. Registered nurses reported the highest job satisfaction. Overall, different professions’ scores were relatively close, but modeling all concepts revealed variations in their relationships. Profession moderated these associations, slightly weakening the link between PCC and job satisfaction (b = 1.02 to 0.98), while nearly halving the overall strength of associations between PCC, job satisfaction, and stress of conscience (b = -1.44 to -0.79). Conclusions Profession significantly influenced the relationships between PCC and work-related health among the professionals. This indicates a need for tailored implementation initiatives for different professional roles to maximize the impact of PCC on work-related health in primary care. Key messages • Different professional roles experience person-centred care and its impact on work-related health in distinct ways. • Tailored implementation strategies are needed to ensure person-centred care effectively supports the work-related health of primary care professionals.