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Which outcomes should be included in a core outcome set for capturing and measuring doctor well-being? A Delphi study

Which outcomes should be included in a core outcome set for capturing and measuring doctor well-being? A Delphi study
Which outcomes should be included in a core outcome set for capturing and measuring doctor well-being? A Delphi study

Objectives: to develop a core outcome set (COS) to capture and measure the well-being of doctors working in the National Health Service (NHS). 

Design: an online Delphi study. 

Setting: UK NHS.

Participants: participants from four stakeholder groups: (1) those who might use the COS in research, (2) organisations that measure/capture NHS staff well-being, (3) professionals with experience managing NHS staff well-being and (4) NHS doctors were identified through authorship of relevant publications, attendee lists of doctor well-being conferences and meetings, professional bodies, participation in a previous study and recommendations from others. They were recruited via email.

Interventions: a two-stage process: (1) creating a list of 43 well-being outcomes informed by a systematic review of well-being measurement instruments, a survey of UK doctors and two doctor engagement workshops and (2) an online Delphi study (with two rounds) to reach consensus. Outcomes were rated on a 9-point Likert scale; consensus' was reached when ≥75% agreed that an outcome was critical for inclusion in the COS. 

Results: 52 participants completed both Delphi rounds. Seven well-being outcomes met the threshold for inclusion in the COS: general well-being, health, personal safety, job satisfaction, morale, life work balance and good clinical practice. 

Conclusions: use of the COS has the potential to reduce heterogeneity and standardise the capture and measurement of doctor well-being, and ensure outcomes important to all stakeholders are reported. 

Trial registration: this study was prospectively registered with the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trial initiative at www.comet-initiative.org (Registration: 1577).

Delphi Technique, Health Workforce, MENTAL HEALTH
2044-6055
Simons, Gemma
a619e51c-448c-4f30-b860-e31bd4c02ebf
Klepacz, Naomi
31061121-a4ac-4a6b-a110-bcc6afd554fd
Baldwin, David S
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e
Simons, Gemma
a619e51c-448c-4f30-b860-e31bd4c02ebf
Klepacz, Naomi
31061121-a4ac-4a6b-a110-bcc6afd554fd
Baldwin, David S
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e

Simons, Gemma, Klepacz, Naomi and Baldwin, David S (2025) Which outcomes should be included in a core outcome set for capturing and measuring doctor well-being? A Delphi study. BMJ Open, 15 (5), [e094973]. (doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2024-094973).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Objectives: to develop a core outcome set (COS) to capture and measure the well-being of doctors working in the National Health Service (NHS). 

Design: an online Delphi study. 

Setting: UK NHS.

Participants: participants from four stakeholder groups: (1) those who might use the COS in research, (2) organisations that measure/capture NHS staff well-being, (3) professionals with experience managing NHS staff well-being and (4) NHS doctors were identified through authorship of relevant publications, attendee lists of doctor well-being conferences and meetings, professional bodies, participation in a previous study and recommendations from others. They were recruited via email.

Interventions: a two-stage process: (1) creating a list of 43 well-being outcomes informed by a systematic review of well-being measurement instruments, a survey of UK doctors and two doctor engagement workshops and (2) an online Delphi study (with two rounds) to reach consensus. Outcomes were rated on a 9-point Likert scale; consensus' was reached when ≥75% agreed that an outcome was critical for inclusion in the COS. 

Results: 52 participants completed both Delphi rounds. Seven well-being outcomes met the threshold for inclusion in the COS: general well-being, health, personal safety, job satisfaction, morale, life work balance and good clinical practice. 

Conclusions: use of the COS has the potential to reduce heterogeneity and standardise the capture and measurement of doctor well-being, and ensure outcomes important to all stakeholders are reported. 

Trial registration: this study was prospectively registered with the Core Outcome Measures in Effectiveness Trial initiative at www.comet-initiative.org (Registration: 1577).

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More information

Accepted/In Press date: 4 April 2025
e-pub ahead of print date: 13 May 2025
Published date: 13 May 2025
Keywords: Delphi Technique, Health Workforce, MENTAL HEALTH

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 503173
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/503173
ISSN: 2044-6055
PURE UUID: 380d0f78-5da7-4537-ab07-e9492aececfb
ORCID for Naomi Klepacz: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-7552-8000
ORCID for David S Baldwin: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-3343-0907

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 23 Jul 2025 16:36
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 01:39

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Contributors

Author: Gemma Simons
Author: Naomi Klepacz ORCID iD
Author: David S Baldwin ORCID iD

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