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
Simons, Gemma
a619e51c-448c-4f30-b860-e31bd4c02ebf
Klepacz, Naomi
31061121-a4ac-4a6b-a110-bcc6afd554fd
Baldwin, David S
1beaa192-0ef1-4914-897a-3a49fc2ed15e
13 May 2025
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).
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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e094973.full
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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
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Date deposited: 23 Jul 2025 16:36
Last modified: 22 Aug 2025 01:39
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Author:
Gemma Simons
Author:
Naomi Klepacz
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