Patterns and Consequences of Delayed Self Care Among Rural Medical Providers

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to (a) examine personal healthcare practices of rural medical providers by issue type (e.g., physical health, social health, or mental health), (b) identify perceived consequences of taking time off and (c) determine whether greater delay in self-care was associated with perceived stress and burnout. Design: Electronic surveys were sent to 805 medical providers (response rate = 17.8%, n = 143). Setting: The setting was a rural teaching hospital and affiliated community clinics. Subjects: Participants included 143 rural medical providers. Measures: The survey included demographic information, perceived personal health risk, and questions about delaying health care, and perceived consequences of receiving health care. Results: Medical providers delayed mental health care needs significantly more than physical health needs, t(131) = 5.13, P < .01, d = .38. Respondents believed that there would be significantly more retaliation against them for taking time off for psychosocial issues, t(124) = -3.80, P < .001, d = .25. There was a significant negative association between burnout and physical health self-care (r = -.24, P < .01), psychosocial self-care (r = -.20, P = .01), and mental health self-care (r = -.23, P < .01). Conclusions: Our study identified commonly reported consequences related to taking off work for care seeking behavior. Understanding perceived consequences can help guide health care organizations in dismantling these barriers. This study is limited by the generalizability of its sample.