Study on the influence of residents′ psychological contracts on their behavioral intentions from the perspective of incomplete contracts / 中华医院管理杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective:To analyze the psychological contract satisfaction of contracted residents and its impact on their behavioral intentions under the guidance of incomplete contract theory, for reference in improving the effectiveness of contracted family doctor services.Methods:1 100 contracted residents from nine townships/streets in Shandong province were selected as subjects according to stratified random sampling from September 2019 to June 2020, and a questionnaire survey on the level of satisfaction of contracted residents′ psychological contracts(24 items) and assessment of behavior intentions(9 items) was conducted, and the model of the effect of contracted residents′ psychological contracts on behavior intentions was established and analyzed. The correlation was validated by Pearson test and the structural equation method was used for verifying the model.Results:998 valid questionnaires were recovered. The psychological contract satisfaction score of the contracted residents was 3.45±0.56 and the behavioral intention was 2.81±0.29. Both transactional and relational psychological contracts were correlated with all dimensions of behavioral intention( P<0.01). Concerning the impacts of residents′ psychological contracts on behavioral intentions, the effect coefficients of transactional psychological contracts on loyalty intention, voice intention, exit intention and neglect intention were 0.33, 0.24, -0.25 and -0.49 respectively, with an indirect effect on neglect intention; the effect coefficients of relational psychological contracts on loyalty intention, voice intention, exit intention and neglect intention were 0.26, 0.10, -0.14 and -0.50 respectively, with an indirect effect on advice intention and neglect intention. Conclusions:Residents′ psychological contract has yet not been effectively satisfied. Satisfying and improving the residents′ psychological contract can directly enhance their loyalty intention and reduce their exit intention, indirectly influencing the voice and neglect intentions. In order to enhance the effectiveness of family doctor contracted services and improve the healthcare experience of contracted residents, it is suggested that the relevant departments should actively take the following measures, including carrying out a survey on the psychological contract of contracted residents, building a provincial-city-county-township collaborative linkage platform, and so on.