SynthesisThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2017
Addressing the crisis of GP recruitment and retention: a systematic review.
Synthesis in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 128 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
128 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Understanding why health professionals are leaving the UK national health service (NHS) - A systematic review and narrative synthesis.Journal of health services research & policy · 2026Pooled it
- Understanding How the Design and Implementation of Online Consultations Affect Primary Care Quality: Systematic Review of Evidence With Recommendations for Designers, Providers, and Researchers.Journal of medical Internet research · 2022Pooled it
- Factors contributing to the recruitment and retention of rural pharmacist workforce: a systematic review.BMC health services research · 2021Pooled it
- Shaping a positive occupational safety climate in general practice teams-findings of the baseline survey of the cluster randomized IMPROVEFrontiers in public health · 2025Trial
- Leadership program with skills training for general practitioners was highly accepted without improving job satisfaction: the cluster randomized IMPROVEjob study.Scientific reports · 2022Trial
- Job Satisfaction and Chronic Stress of General Practitioners and Their Teams: Baseline Data of a Cluster-Randomised Trial (IMPROVEInternational journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Trial
- Motivational factors for general practice training and career establishment: A cross-sectional study in Flanders, Belgium.The European journal of general practice · 2026Article
- Sustaining a career in general practice: a qualitative study of experienced GPs in South West England.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- An international, cross-sectional comparative study of general practice curricula in medical school programmes.International journal of medical education · 2026Observational
- Access to general practice: why policy must be rural-proofed.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- The impact of the harmonised education tariff on undergraduate general practice education in England: a qualitative interview study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- General practice care models and satisfaction in Australian residential aged care homes: a national survey of GPs, practice nurses, and managers.Family practice · 2026Article
- Organizational Climate Factors Influencing Job Satisfaction in Rural Health Care Workplaces in Upper-Middle-Income and High-Income Countries: A Scoping Review.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- The impact of professional characteristics and person-centred care on general practitioners' stress levels. Findings from the cross-sectional PACE GP/FP study in 24 European countries.The European journal of general practice · 2026Article
- Wellbeing at work among GPs working in multidisciplinary primary care teams: a cross-sectional study.BJGP open · 2026Article
- GP workforce sustainability to maximise effective and equitable patient care: a realist review.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Review
- Counting general practitioners: a comparative repeat cross-sectional analysis of GPs in NHS general practice in England.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- General practice prestige: understanding medical students' perceptions - a repeated cross-sectional study.BMC medical education · 2026Article
- Physicians shortage in primary care: a protocol for updating a systematic review of recruitment and retention strategies.F1000Research · 2026Article
- General Practitioner Engagement with Continuing Professional Development: A Scoping Review Protocol.Journal of CME · 2026Article
68 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
2 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe numbers of GPs and training places in general practice are declining, and retaining GPs in their practices is an increasing problem.
aimTo identify evidence on different approaches to retention and recruitment of GPs, such as intrinsic versus extrinsic motivational determinants. DESIGN AND
settingSynthesis of qualitative and quantitative research using seven electronic databases from 1990 onwards (Medline, Embase, Cochrane Library, Health Management Information Consortium [HMIC], Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (Cinahl), PsycINFO, and the Turning Research Into Practice [TRIP] database).
methodA qualitative approach to reviewing the literature on recruitment and retention of GPs was used. The studies included were English-language studies from Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries. The titles and abstracts of 138 articles were reviewed and analysed by the research team.
resultsSome of the most important determinants to increase recruitment in primary care were early exposure to primary care practice, the fit between skills and attributes, and a significant experience in a primary care setting. Factors that seemed to influence retention were subspecialisation and portfolio careers, and job satisfaction. The most important determinants of recruitment and retention were intrinsic and idiosyncratic factors, such as recognition, rather than extrinsic factors, such as income.
conclusionAlthough the published evidence relating to GP recruitment and retention is limited, and most focused on attracting GPs to rural areas, the authors found that there are clear overlaps between strategies to increase recruitment and retention. Indeed, the most influential factors are idiosyncratic and intrinsic to the individuals.
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Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.