Irish medical journal
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Irish medical journal · Oct 2005
Comparative StudyA comparative study on attitudes, towards the provision of out-of-hours care, of the spouses of general practitioners participating, or not, in a rural out-of-hours co-op.
Qualitative research has suggested that the stress of general practice, and that of out-of-hours care in particular, has an impact on general practitioners' (GPs') spouses. The effects on the families of practitioners, of the introduction of out-of-hours co-operatives has not been extensively studied. Our objective was to compare, between the spouses of GPs participating or not in a rural co-op, the effects of out-of-hours commitments on personal and family life. ⋯ The general provision of out-of-hours care has a significant impact on the spouses and families of GPs participating, or not, in a rural co-op. Spouses of participants in co-ops had significantly less interruptions to their home life from patients and worried less about the safety of their spouse. The implications of these findings on the recruitment and retention of rural practitioners merits further discussion.