Investigating the conditions in which women GPs thrive in General Practice: What works, for whom, how and in what circumstances?
Start date
November 2024End date
April 2026Overview
Women GPs, internationally, experienced greater mental health and wellbeing problems than male GPs. Women GPs typically spend longer with patients and take on more emotional labour, which may contribute to burnout and turnover. The lack of flexibility and support around part-time working and childcare provision often affects women GPs ability to take on wider responsibilities such a partner roles than male GPs. Whilst there is a global trend of increasing numbers of women training as doctors, this is not a group who appear to be thriving at work. To thrive at work means to have a positive psychological state; this can be influenced by individual and work-related factors. Evidence about how to create the conditions to thrive at work has not yet been translated into the general practice setting, nor to women GPs. This research aims to investigate the conditions in which women GPs work, and identify strategies that may help them to thrive in order to better recruit, support, and retain them. We will produce recommendations for how women GPs, managers, employers, policy makers, and training providers can more effectively support this staff group to thrive at work.
If you would like to hear more, or have an interest in becoming a stakeholder on this project, please contact Ruth: r.abrams@surrey.ac.uk.
Funding amount
£269,364.54
Funder
NIHR HSDR
Team
Chief investigator
Dr Ruth Abrams
Lecturer
Biography
Ruth is an organisational psychologist whose research focuses on the primary care workforce, and primary care service design, delivery and evaluation. Ruth is particularly interested in the organisation of General Practice, and women in healthcare. She uses qualitative research methods and undertakes evidence syntheses, often using realist approaches. Her current projects are funded by NIHR Public Health Research and NIHR Health and Social Care Delivery Research.
Ruth is the Impact Champion for the School of Health Sciences, and academic co-lead for Research Culture: People and Environment. She is also currently acting as interim Director of Research as part of a tripartite arrangement until July 2025. Ruth established and now co-leads the Realist Health and Social care workforce Special Interest Group (SIG). She sits on the Editorial Board for BJGP and BMC Medicine, and is a Fellow of the RSA.
Team members
Victoria Williams
Research Fellow
Biography
Vickie is a research fellow working on the Health and Social Care Delivery Research (HSDR) Project: NIHR161818 - Investigating the conditions in which women GPs thrive in General Practice: What works, for whom, how and in what circumstances? Led by Dr Ruth Abrams.
Vickie is particularly interested in embodiment, temporality and interventions that support women’s health and wellbeing at work. Her doctoral thesis explores the experience of working with endometriosis and the influence of menstrual policy. Her research has so far advised parliamentary debates on supporting endometriosis in the workplace as well as the Women and Work APPG on menstrual wellbeing, and formed the basis of her TEDx talk ‘End-o, not the end of a career’. Vickie also sits on the Menstruation Friendly Independent Panel of experts accrediting organisations who support menstrual health at work.
Dr Ruth Riley
Senior Lecturer
Biography
I am an applied medical sociologist and qualitative methodologist. My research uses qualitative and inter-disciplinary approaches to investigate the contexts/causes of distress and suicidality, including workplace injustices, working conditions and cultures, experienced by healthcare professionals. This research contests neoliberal individualised approaches which pathologise NHS staff. Instead, my work focuses on occupational, political, systemic and cultural contexts in which staff work and and how they impact on the emotional and psychological health of NHS staff.
My previous research explored contexts contributing to distress in GPs and then junior doctors; my recent research project explored the impact of NHS staff suicide on their colleagues and teams to develop the first evidence-based postvention guidance for the NHS.
Further information
If you would like further information on this project, please email r.abrams@surrey.ac.uk or view the NIHR project page.