Laypeople's Perspective on Physician Work-Hour Restrictions in Japan: A Cross-Sectional Study

Overview

Journal J Patient Exp

Specialty Health Services

Date 2024 Dec 16

PMID 39677982

Authors

Hirohisa Fujikawa

Junji Haruta

Affiliations

Soon will be listed here.

Abstract

The aim of the study was to examine laypeople's perspectives on the impending implementation of physician work-hour restrictions in Japan, which had received limited research attention. We conducted a nationwide cross-sectional study in January 2024. The participants were monitors of an internet survey company who responded to closed questions regarding the expected effect of work-hour regulations, along with an open-ended question regarding their expectations or concerns about these restrictions. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics for closed questions and content analysis for the open-ended questions. The study included 484 laypeople. A significant portion (25.4%) was unaware of the scheduled start of work-hour restrictions. Approximately half of the participants had a neutral view of the overall impact of the restrictions. Content analysis of the open-ended responses identified 130 (60.2%) comments as "expectations" and 70 (32.4%) as expressing "concerns," with a notable number of comments deemed to indicate that the respondents were "unsure" or found the changes "irrelevant" to them. This study indicates a substantial gap between the views of physicians and laypeople on this issue.

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