Background
Primary care midwifery in the Netherlands
Career plans
Intention to leave
Methods
Study design
Recruitment and enrolment of study participants
Data collection
Data analysis
Ethical approval and privacy issues
Results
Baseline characteristics of participants
Total (98 (100%)) | ITL (32 (32.7%)) | NITL (66 (67.3%)) |
p
| |
---|---|---|---|---|
n(%); mean ± SD | n(%); mean ± SD | n(%); mean ± SD | ||
Work-related | ||||
Job type | 0.272 | |||
Self-employed practitioner | 71 (72.4%) | 26 (81.3%) | 45 (68.2%) | |
Employee | 18 (18.4%) | 5 (15.6%) | 13 (9.7%) | |
Locum | 9 (9.2%) | 1 (3.1%) | 8 (12.1%) | |
Group practice | 94 (95.9%) | 32 (100%) | 62 (93.9%) | 0.155 |
Other job types | ||||
Working in a single practice | 71 (72.4%) | 21 (65.6%) | 50 (75.8%) | 0.292 |
Also practicing in another practice | 4 (4.1%) | 1 (3.1%) | 3 (4.5%) | 0.739 |
Ultrasound operator in another practice | 8 (8.2%) | 4 (12.5%) | 4 (6.1%) | 0.275 |
Also another job not as a midwife | 16 (16.3%) | 6 (18.8%) | 10 (15.2%) | 0.651 |
Level of urbanization | 0.765 | |||
Urban | 30 (30.6%) | 11 (34.4%) | 19 (28.8%) | |
Rural | 20 (20.4%) | 7 (21.9%) | 13 (19.7%) | |
Urban and rural | 48 (49.0%) | 14 (43.8%) | 34 (51.5%) | |
Region | 0.725 | |||
North | 26 (26.5%) | 7 (21.9%) | 19 (29%) | |
Centre | 53 (54.1%) | 19 (59.4%) | 34 (51.5%) | |
South | 19 (19.4%) | 6 (18.8%) | 13 (19.7%) | |
Education | ||||
Midwifery education in NL | 81 (84.4%) | 27 (84.4%) | 54 (84.4%) | 1.000 |
Advanced/additional education | 38 (38.8%) | 10 (31.3%) | 28 (42.4%) | 0.287 |
Mean working years (±SD) | 12.8 ± 9.9 | 14.5 ± 8.4 | 12.0 ± 10.5 | 0.203 |
Personal | ||||
Mean age (±SD) | 37.6 ± 10.8 | 49.4 ± 9.6 | 36.7 ± 11.4 | 0.238 |
Age between 30 and 45 years old | 35 (35.7%) | 18 (56.3%) | 17 (25.8%) | 0.003 |
Female | 96 (99.0%) | 30 (96.8%) | 66 (100%) | 0.320 |
Family commitments | ||||
Having a partner | 79 (81.4%) | 26 (83.9%) | 53 (80.3%) | 0.673 |
Having children at home | 54 (55.7%) | 20 (64.5%) | 34 (51.5%) | 0.229 |
Be the main care taker | 31 (31.6%) | 10 (31.3%) | 21 (31.8%) | 0.955 |
Problems combining work and private life | 73 (74.5%) | 27 (84.4%) | 46 (69.7%) | 0.118 |
Mother with work–life balance problems (composite score) | 47 (48.5%) | 18 (58.1%) | 29 (43.9%) | 0.194 |
Attitudes towards work | ||||
Perceived work pressurea (mean scale score ± SD) | 2.58 ± 0.664 | 2.78 ± 0.673 | 2.49 ± 0.644 | 0.044 |
Overall job satisfactionb (mean scale score ± SD) | 4.50 ± 0.418 | 4.28 ± 0.482 | 4.61 ± 0.339 | 0.001 |
Satisfied or very satisfied with work | 81 (82.7%) | 20 (62.5%) | 61 (92.4%) | 0.000 |
Career plans
Total (98 (100%)) | ITL (32 (32.7%)) | NITL (66 (67.3%)) |
p
| |
---|---|---|---|---|
n(%); mean ± SD | n(%); mean ± SD | n(%); mean ± SD | ||
Preferred type of job in five years’ timeb | ||||
Self-employed practitioner | 75 (76.5%) | 20 (62.5%) | 55 (83.6%) | 0.022 |
Employee | 15 (15.3%) | 3 (9.4%) | 12 (18.2%) | 0.256 |
Lecturer | 14 (14.3%) | 7 (21.9%) | 7 (10.6%) | 0.135 |
Researcher | 9 (9.2%) | 5 (15.6%) | 4 (6.1%) | 0.124 |
Clinical midwife | 7 (7.1%) | 4 (12.5%) | 3 (4.5%) | 0.211 |
Locum | 6 (6.1%) | 3 (9.4%) | 3 (4.5%) | 0.389 |
Not working anymore | 4 (4.1%) | 3 (9.4%) | 1 (1.5%) | 0.101 |
Preferred nature and scope of job in five years’ timec | ||||
Full range of primary care | 80 (82.5%) | 21 (67.7%) | 59 (89.4%) | 0.009 |
Ultrasound operator | 27 (27.8%) | 10 (32.3%) | 17 (25.8%) | 0.505 |
Full range of clinical midwifery | 7 (7.2%) | 4 (12.9%) | 3 (4.5%) | 0.205 |
Not employed anymore | 4 (4.1%) | 3 (9.7%) | 1 (1.5%) | 0.095 |
Only prenatal and postnatal care and no natal care | 2 (2.1%) | 2 (6.5%) | 0 (0.0%) | 0.101 |
Future and ideal work situation in five years’ time | ||||
Full-time job | 30 (30.9%) | 5 (16.1%) | 25 (37.9%) | 0.027 |
Average part-time working time (hours per week) | 26.9 ± 4.2 | 25.6 ± 4.2 | 27.1 ± 4.3 | 0.639 |
Ideal number of working hours (per week) | 34.8 ± 6.3 | 32.3 ± 7.2 | 36.0 ± 5.4 | 0.015 |
Ideal number of midwives per practice | 4.3 ± 1.5 | 4.2 ± 1.1 | 4.3 ± 1.6 | 0.862 |
Ideal amount of births per year | 345 ± 153 | 323 ± 137 | 355 ± 160 | 0.338 |
Ideal average of practice assistance (hours per week) | 27.1 ± 11.3 | 27.2 ± 9.6 | 27.0 ± 12.1 | 0.927 |
Intention to leave
Variable | (β) | SE | WaldΧ2 |
p
| Odds ratio |
s
| |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lower | Upper | ||||||
Overall job satisfaction | −1.712 | .598 | 8.188 | .004 | .180 | 0.056 | 0.583 |
Between 30 and 45 years old | .991 | .485 | 4.172 | .041 | 2.694 | 1.041 | 6.975 |
Constant | 2.776 | 1.050 | 6.991 | .008 | 16.059 |