Cigarettes, pints, and sports: Do they moderate or mediate the association between workload and well-being of healthcare providers?

Objectives

This study studied how health-related behaviours moderated or mediated the potential negative impacts of workload on well-being of healthcare providers, and examined their dynamic and heterogeneous effects on primary care physicians and residents.

Study design

Cross-sectional study.

Methods

The study population was junior healthcare providers, who enrolled in a standardised primary care training track in China. A total of 14,315 surveys were distributed between December 2021 and February 2022, resulting in 9,208 valid responses from 17 provinces. The outcome variable was well-being, which was measured on a scale ranging from 1 to 5. The main explanatory variable was weekly working hours. Health-related behaviours included drinking, smoking, and exercising. OLS regression was used for moderation and mediation analyses.

Results

Healthcare providers reported an average of 50.86 working hours weekly, with a mean well-being score of 3.3. The proportions of providers who drinking alcohol, smoking, and exercising were 45 %, 6.9 %, and 63 %, respectively. Moderation analysis revealed that drinking had positive moderating effects in mitigating the adverse impact of workload on well-being, but these diminished as drinking frequency increased. Exercising also had positive moderating effects, with greater magnitudes. Smoking showed no moderating effect. Only exercising functioned as a mediator.

Conclusions

Regular exercising and low frequency of drinking both positively moderated the negative effects of workload on well-being, with exercise showing a stronger effect. Heavy workloads limited providers’ time for exercise, which further reduced their well-being. Smoking should be avoided, as it showed no beneficial effects on well-being.