Study design
This was a cross-sectional study, and data were collected using questionnaires.
Population and data collection procedure
The scope of this research survey was limited to Nanjing City, Jiangsu Province, and Zhengzhou City, Henan Province. A total of 154 MP and 329 GP respondents participated in the study. Data were collected using a self-administered online questionnaire, distributed through Questionnaire Star and WeChat apps. While participation in the study was voluntary, the participants received monetary compensation (After completing the questionnaire and submitting it successfully, each respondent will receive 10 RMB.). All participants signed the informed consent form attached to the questionnaire prior to answering any question. The participants had 15 min to answer the questionnaire.
Questionnaire
We define DPR through three levels of “harmony”, “Tense” and “Normal”, “Harmonious” DPR mainly means that both the doctor and the patient can always complete the treatment process in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere. “Tense” DPR mainly refers to the fact that both the doctor and the patient cannot trust each other, fail to complete the medical treatment process smoothly, and cause medical disputes and even violent injuries to the doctor. “Average” refers to the state of DPR between harmony and tension. Although both doctors and patients cannot fully trust each other, there are not always medical disputes and violent incidents.
Self-administered questionnaires covering three aspects were answered by the participating MP and GP respondents. The first part of the questionnaire used by the MP included items on sociodemographic factors: Gender, Age, Job title (Primary, Intermediate, Deputy Senior, Advanced), Department (Internal Medicine, Surgical, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Pediatrics, Emergency Department, Medical Technology Department, and Other Auxiliary Departments), Years on the Job, Hospital Type (Traditional Chinese Medicine, Modern medicine and Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine), Hospital level (Community, Level 2, Level 3, Other Medical Institutions), Practice Category (Nursing, Traditional Chinese Medicine Physician, Modern Medicine Physician, Integrated Chinese, and Western Medicine Physician), Education (Technical Secondary School/College, Undergraduate, Master’s degree, Ph.D. and Above), and Place of Residence (Village/Township/Town, County-level Cities/Prefecture-level Cities, Provincial Capital Cities/Municipalities). The first part of the questionnaire used by GP included items on sociodemographic factors: Gender, Age, Place of Residence (Village/Township/Town, County-level Cities/Prefecture-level Cities, Provincial Capital cities/Municipalities), Education (Elementary School and Below, Junior and High school, Technical Secondary School/College, Undergraduate, Postgraduate and Above), Job type (Institution/Civil Service, Private Enterprise Employees, Self-employed, Unemployed and Student), and Previous Hospitalization (Yes or No).
In the second part of the questionnaire, the participants were asked whether the medical industry belonged to the service industry and whether the service attitude of medical personnel with professional skills was important. Responses from the MP and the GP cohorts were investigated separately. And investigated GP about whether the service attitude of medical staff is appropriate compared with government staff/service staff. The third part of the questionnaire was aimed at finding the difference between the MP and GP respondents’ perception of the medical industry. The MP and GP’s views on the medical staff’s income level and whether they wanted their children to be in the medical field were investigated as well. Finally, the MP’s opinion on how to improve in routine medical work (Social Status, Salary, Safety, Work time, Night Shift Frequency, Cumbersome Hospital Assessment, Doctor-patient Relationship, Working Environment) was also investigated.
Statistical analysis
All data were incorporated into a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Data analyses were done using SPSS, version 22.0, and SPSSAU, version 20.0. Wilcoxon’s Sign Rank Test was implemented to compare the differences in attitude scores between the two groups. Chi-square test was used for categorical data between the groups, and categorical data were summarized using frequency distributions and percentages. A value of p < 0.05 was considered significant.