Buchbinder SB et al 46 | 2001 | US | Cohort study | Primary care physician, job satisfaction and turnover | Questionnaire survey | Weak: cohort from the US and data from 1987 to 1991 | Good |
Buciuniene I et al 42 | 2005 | Lithuania | Original research | Healthcare reform and job satisfaction | Self-administrated anonymous questionnaires | Weak: GPs and policy from Lithuania | Average/weak: cross-sectional and statistical analyses simplistic (no regression, only correlations) |
Bustinza R et al 34 | 2009 | Canada | Cohort study | Training programme, GP retention in rural area | Used of secondary data and questionnaires | Average: Canada has a similar primary care context but the study was in a rural context | Good |
Campos-Outcalt D et al 30 | 1995 | US | Review/quality assessment | Curricula, role models, research support, career choice | Literature search: Medline, PsycINFO, Current Contents, Expanded Academic Index | Average, the article presents three elements influencing career choice, but the article is quite old | Average: the methods are very detailed. Very few articles were included in the results section due to the lack of quality articles fitting their 70 criteria |
CfWI51 | 2014 | UK | Review/report | GP workforce | N/A | High | Good: because it gives an overview of the GP workforce in the UK |
Chellappah M, Garnham L21 | 2014 | UK | Original research | Medical student attitude towards general practice | Questionnaire design | High | Weak: not generalisable (specific to one college). Measurement scale not used |
Crampton PES et al 22 | 2013 | Australia, US, Canada, NZ, South Africa, Japan | Systematic literature review | Undergraduate clinical placements, underserved areas | Database searches, inclusion and exclusion criteria, data extraction, and so on | Weak | High |
Dale J et al 43 | 2015 | UK (West Midlands) | Cross-sectional study | Retention of GPs | Online questionnaire with free-text section | High | Good: because it questioned the proposition that general practice is in crisis |
Dayan M et al 37 | 2014 | UK | Report | GP workforce crisis | N/A | Good | Average |
Doran N et al 47 | 2016 | UK | Mixed-methods research | Why GPs leave the NHS | Online questionnaire with qualitative interviews | High | Good |
Evans J et al 52 | 2000 | UK | Cohort study | Medical graduates and flexible/part-time working in medicine | Survey with free-text comment. Reported mainly the qualitative data | Weak: medical graduate in general not only future GPs, also the data come from 1977, 1988, and 1993 | Average: used mainly qualitative data coming from the free-text comment. The percentage of comment on flexible and part time is less than 9% for the three cohorts |
Feeley TH53 | 2003 | N/A | Narrative literature review | Retention in rural primary care physicians | N/A | Weak | Weak |
Geyman JP et al33 | 2000 | US | Study | Educating GPs for rural practice | Comprehensive literature search: Medline, Health STAR databases | Weak, but the recommendations are interesting | Average/weak: little analysis, only looked at programmes |
Gibson J et al14 | 2015 | UK | Report, survey | GP work/life survey | Questionnaire | Good | Average: it is a report. |
Groenewegen PP et al44 | 1991 | US | Review of the literature | GP, effective workload, job satisfaction | N/A | Good | Average: no method but definition and theorisation is interesting |
Halaas GW et al 24 | 2008 | US | Study | Recruitment and retention of rural physicians | Analysed data from a recruitment programme | Good, but the results are linked to the rural context | Average: no hypothesis, nor hypothesis testing, but 37-year trend studied |
Harding A et al 2 | 2015 | UK | Cross-sectional study | Teaching and general practice | Review of past national survey and questionnaire survey | Good | Good |
Hemphill E et al 61 | 2007 | Australia | Mixed design | GP rural recruitment | Three sources of data collection: GP survey, data collected from a convenient sample of students, and interviews with recruiting agencies | Weak | Average |
Humphreys J et al 49 | 2001 | Australia | Critical review | Rural medical workforce retention | Australian and international database: ATSI Health, Consumer service, AusportMed, Family & Society, and so on | Good | Average: issues with method inclusion/exclusion criteria |
Illing J et al 25 | 2003 | UK | Review of evidence | Learning in practice (preregistration house officers) and general practice | Literature search: Embrase, Medline, ERIC, FirstSearch, PsycINFO, www.timelit.org.uk, www.educationgp.com | Good | Average: methods inclusion and exclusion criteria not presented |
Landry M et al 26 | 2011 | Canada | Original study | Recruitment and retention of doctors and local training (rural) | Short survey | Good but the results are linked to the rural context | Good: methods well presented, the analyses are adequate |
Lee DM, Nichols T 27 | 2014 | US, Canada | Case study, review | Physician recruitment and retention, rural and underserved areas | Literature review | Weak: but suggestions for different factors influencing recruitment and retention | Average: the review method is described but the case study choice is not explained |
Newton J et al 50 | 2004 | UK (Northern Deanery) | Original study | Job dissatisfaction and early retirement | Qualitative study: interviews, using a purposefully drawn sample from seven sub-groups of responders | Good | Average: small number of interviewees |
O’Connor DB et al 45 | 2000 | UK (Liverpool) | Preliminary study | Job strain and blood pressure in general practice | Questionnaire and ambulatory blood pressure procedure | High: relationship between job strain and blood pressure | Good |
Petchey R et al 23 | 1997 | UK | Original study | Junior doctors’ perceptions of general practice as a career | Qualitative study: interviews, using an heterogeneous sample | High | Weak: little theoretical. development |
Roos M et al 36 | 2014 | Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Norway, Portugal, UK | Original cross-sectional study | Motivation for career choice and job satisfaction: GP trainees and newly qualified GPs | Questionnaire/survey | High | Good |
Rosenthal TC 32 | 2000 | US | Review | Rural training tracts | N/A | Weak: but interesting insight | Weak |
Schwartz MD et al 28 | 2005 | US | Reflection | Student interest in generalist career | N/A | High | Weak: recommendations without original study, nor based on evidence from various articles |
Shadbolt N, Bunker J 20 | 2009 | Australia | Review | Career choice determinants | N/A | High | Weak: no method |
Sibbald B et al 39 | 2003 | England | National survey | Job satisfaction and retirement | Survey | High | Good |
Stapleton G et al 62 | 2014 | English-speaking countries | Review, ethical criteria | Primary care physicians | Database: Web of Knowledge | Weak | Average: presentation of methods |
Van Ham I et al 40 | 2006 | UK, US, Australia | Systematic review | GPs and job satisfaction | Two strategies: database and snowball methods | High | High |
Verma P et al 19 | 2016 | UK, US, Canada, Australia, Japan, NZ, Norway, Chile | Systematic review | Strategies to recruit and retain | Literature search: Medline, Embase, and Central, 1974–2013 | High | High |
Williamson JW et al 31 | 1993 | US | Comparative studies | Primary care, health systems change | N/A | Weak | Weak: no method |
Wordsworth S et al 48 | 2004 | UK | Original study | Preferences for general practice jobs | Discrete-choice experiment | Good | Good |
Young R, Leese B 29 | 1999 | UK | Discussion paper/review | Recruitment and retention of GPs in the UK | Literature search: Medline, BIDS-EMBASE, IBSS, HELMIS, survey of articles in recent issues of relevant professional journals | High | Average: little theoretical development and evidence |