Archives of Hellenic Medicine

Last update:

19-Sep-2022

Arch Hellen Med, 39(5),September-October 2022, 669-679

ORGINIAL PAPER

The motivation of doctors to serve on Greek islands and in areas with increased tourism

P. Galanis,¹ O. Siskou,² O. Konstantakopoulou,^2,3 G. Angelopoulos,² A. Fanou,³ D. Kaitelidou,^2,3
¹Department of Nursing, Clinical Epidemiology Laboratory, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,
²Department of Nursing, Center for Health Services Management and Evaluation, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens,
³Organisation for Quality Assurance in Health, Athens, Greece

OBJECTIVE To investigate the motives of doctors to serve on Greek islands and in other areas of Greece with increased tourism, and the demographic and job characteristics that could affect their motivation.

METHOD A crosssectional study was conducted during June 2020, with a convenience sample of doctors who completed the study questionnaire. The questionnaire included questions on demographic and job characteristics, and on the motives to serve on islands (including educational, job conditions, rating, financial, living and personal motives).

RESULTS The final study population included 83 doctors with a mean age of 42.6 years, who worked on islands and in other areas of Greece with increased tourist traffic. The most common motives reported were the educational motives, followed by the job conditions, rating motives, financial motives, the living conditions, and, finally, personal motives. Of the doctors participating, 53% stated that they had not been informed about the incentives that the Greek government provides. The females considered the job conditions (p=0.01) and the living conditions (p=0.04) as the more important motives. Younger physicians considered the rating motives and educational motives as more important (p=0.04 in both cases). The doctors working in hospitals considered the rating motives (p=0.1) as more important, and younger doctors considered the financial motives as more important, but these findings were not statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS In addition to financial incentives, incentives related to personal development and living conditions were considered more important for the doctors in choosing an island or touristic venue to work. More than half of the participants were not aware of the Greek government incentives for doctors working in such areas. The policy makers need to focus on developing an expanded set of realistic incentives for work on the islands that should be communicated more effectively to doctors.

Key words: Doctors, Islands, Motives, Stay, Tourism.