General practitioners’ willingness to participate in research networks in Germany

Figures & data

Figure 1. Sampling flowchart.

Table 1. Socio-demographics and job-related characteristics – total sample and comparison between physicians with and without interest in participating in a research network.

Variable	All	Interested in research network	Not interested in research network
	% (n/nvalid)^a	% (n/nvalid)^a	% (n/nvalid)^a
Female*	69.0 (227/329)	58.7 (61/104)	74.2 (155/209)
Age in years (mean ± SD, median)**	52.2 ± 10.5, 52	47.2 ± 8.9	54.2 ± 10.3
Specialist for general practice (vs. others)	72.4 (231/319)	77.9 (81/104)	70.0 (140/200)
Additional specialty title (vs. none)	13.3 (43/323)	18.3 (19/104)	10.8 (22/204)
Training undergraduates (vs. not)*	30.7 (99/323)	40.0 (42/105)	26.7 (54/202)
Years being a GP (mean ± SD, median)**	16.2 ± 12.2, 12	11.5 ± 10.5	18.1 ± 12.1
Catchment area of the practice: city (vs. town/ rural area)	61.7 (190/308)	63.3 (62/98)	62.4 (121/194)
Medical documentation: electronically (vs. paper-based)**	88.1 (290/329)	95.3 (102/107)	84.0 (173/206)
Experiences with research (vs. none)**	57.1 (192/336)	69.4 (75/108)	51.2 (108/211)
Work satisfaction*
Very satisfied	33.8 (112/331)	46.2 (49/106)	27.9 (58/208)
Rather satisfied	56.2 (186/331)	44.3 (47/106)	61.1 (127/208)
Rather or very dissatisfied	10.0 (33/331)	9.4 (10/106)	11.1 (23/208)
Economic satisfaction
Very satisfied	32.8 (109/332)	36.2 (38/105)	31.4 (66/210)
Rather satisfied	53.9 (179/332)	48.6 (51/105)	55.7 (117/210)
Rather or very dissatisfied	13.3 (44/332)	15.2 (16/105)	12.9 (27/210)

Note: (n_valid)All = (n_valid)interested in research network + (n_valid)not interested in research network + missing values. ^aUnless otherwise indicated. Group differences between interested and not interested in research network are indicated as follows: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.005.

Table 2. GPs' perceptions on what would motivate them to participate in research – total sample and comparison between physicians with and without interest in a research network.

Variable	All	Interested in research network	Not interested in research network
	(Mean ± SD)	(Mean ± SD)	(Mean ± SD)
Improving their patient care**	3.0 ± 1.1	3.5 ± 0.8	2.7 ± 1.2
Carrying out research on topics within their areas of interest**	2.9 ± 1.1	3.4 ± 0.8	2.6 ± 1.2
Giving a more realistic picture of GP care**	2.9 ± 1.2	3.3 ± 0.9	2.7 ± 1.2
Added value for their patients**	2.6 ± 1.2	3.2 ± 0.9	2.3 ± 1.2
Easily plannable scope of work for the research practice network**	2.7 ± 1.2	3.2 ± 0.8	2.4 ± 1.2
Separate remuneration for required working time**	2.6 ± 1.3	3.0 ± 1.2	2.4 ± 1.3
Reimbursement for additional costs, e.g. for training of staff, travel costs etc.**	2.6 ± 1.3	2.9 ± 1.1	2.4 ± 1.4
Exchange between and feedback from colleagues, e.g. on rare diseases**	2.5 ± 1.3	2.9 ± 1.1	2.3 ± 1.3
Processing of practice data allowing the use for own purposes**	2.3 ± 1.2	2.8 ± 1.0	2.1 ± 1.3
Acquiring additional training credit points through participation*	2.4 ± 1.3	2.6 ± 1.3	2.2 ± 1.3
Free or facilitated access to relevant specialist literature**	2.1 ± 1.3	2.6 ± 1.1	1.9 ± 1.4
Patients’ wish for the practice’s participation**	1.9 ± 1.3	2.5 ± 1.1	1.6 ± 1.2
Research workshops within the network**	2.0 ± 1.3	2.4 ± 1.2	1.8 ± 1.2
Official certification as a research practice affiliated to the university**	1.4 ± 1.3	2.2 ± 1.3	1.0 ± 1.2
Possibility of obtaining another academic title**	1.2 ± 1.5	1.9 ± 1.7	0.9 ± 1.3
Mentioning their names in publications**	1.0 ± 1.3	1.5 ± 1.4	0.7 ± 1.0

Note: range from 0 = ‘no increase in motivation’ to +4 = ‘very high increase in motivation’; group differences between interested and not interested in research network are indicated as follows: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.005.

Table 3. GPs' perceptions on what would enhance the attractiveness of medical research in general practice – total sample and comparison between physicians with and without interest in participating in a research network.

Variable	All	Interested in research network	Not interested in research network
	% (n/nvalid)	%(n/nvalid)	%(n/nvalid)
Direct and reliable contact person at the university	90.7 (284/313)	93.4 (99/106)	89.1 (171/192)
Low effort (timewise) for the practice team	92.5 (295/319)	89.7 (96/107)	93.8 (183/195)
Low effort (timewise) for me as a medical doctor*	92.5 (296/320)	87.9 (94/107)	94.9 (186/196)
Compact updates on practice-relevant topics	87.4 (271/310)	87.7 (93/106)	86.2 (163/189)
Timely and practical processing of study results for participating practices*	77.8 (242/311)	84.0 (89/106)	73.4 (141/192)
Seasonal adjustment to the practice workload	75.6 (236/312)	77.6 (83/107)	73.2 (139/190)
Training opportunities in research	59.0 (186/315)	65.4 (70/107)	53.9 (104/193)
Access to the shared, anonymized project database*	51.9 (161/310)	62.9 (66/105)	46.9 (90/192)

Note: percentages of participants who consider the presented factors ‘rather important’ or ‘very important’, versus ‘rather unimportant’ and ‘not at all important’; (n_valid)All = (n_valid)interested in research network + (n_valid)not interested in research network + missing values; group differences between interested and not interested in research network are indicated as follows: *p < 0.05).

Table 4. Potential barriers regarding an involvement in medical research – total sample and comparison between physicians with and without interest in participating in a research network.

Variable	All	Interested in research network	Not interested in research network
	%(n/nvalid)	%(n/nvalid)	%(n/nvalid)
Increase of their daily working time**	90.6 (298/329)	81.3 (87/107)	95.1 (195/205)
Stressing the doctor’s time too much**	82.3 (270/328)	63.6 (68/107)	91.2 (186/204)
Putting too much time pressure on the practice team**	82.3 (270/328)	63.6 (68/107)	91.7 (187/204)
Diminishing the number of patient treatments**	59.1 (192/325)	43.0 (46/107)	67.3 (136/202)
Disruption of their working routine**	58.9 (192/326)	34.6 (37/107)	69.8 (142/202)
Fear of insufficient scientific skills	34.4 (111/323)	27.1 (29/107)	37.1 (75/202)
Fear of insufficient current knowledge**	32.5 (105/323)	20.6 (22/107)	38.3 (77/201)
Financial losses by participation*	13.7 (44/321)	7.5 (8/106)	17.0 (34/200)

Note: percentages of participants who ‘rather agree’ or ‘completely agree’ with the presented statements, versus ‘rather disagree’ and ‘completely disagree’; (n_valid)All = (n_valid)interested in research network + (n_valid)not interested in research network + missing values; group differences between interested and not interested in research network are indicated as follows: *p < 0.05, **p < 0.005).

Table 5. Logistic regression analyses predicting the interest in participating in medical research (Model 1) and in a research network (Model 2).

	Model 1 (N = 278)		Model 2 (N = 273)
	(Nagelkerkes R² = 0.251)		(Nagelkerkes R² = 0.238)
Variables included in the model (stepwise forward LR)	Odds ratio OR (95% CI)	p	Odds ratio OR (95% CI)	p
Previous experiences with medical research (vs. none)	3.49 (2.03–6.00)	<0.001	2.20 (1.21–4.00)	0.010
Age (in years)	0.94 (0.91–0.96)	<0.001	0.92 (0.90–0.95)	<0.001
Male (vs. female)	2.61 (1.42–4.78)	0.002	1.89 (1.05–3.39)	0.033
Training undergraduates (univ. associated practice) (vs. not)			1.98 (1.06–3.68)	0.032
Additional specialty title (vs. none)			2.19 (1.02–4.68)	0.043

Further variables considered (but not included in the model): documentation in the practice (entirely and mostly electronically vs. entirely and mostly paper-based), work satisfaction (very and rather satisfied vs. rather and very dissatisfied), specialty field (general practice vs. others). Variables not considered despite univariable differences: years being a GP due to high correlation with age (r = .84).

Data availability statement

The data may be obtained from the authors upon reasonable request.