Experimental Design
We will use a factorial design of treatments to manipulate following factors:
1) whether the content of volunteering is related to professional work (i.e., environmental sustainability vs. health promotion); 2) whether volunteering involves contacts with co-workers (i.e., volunteer alone vs. volunteer with co-workers); 3) whether volunteering involves contacts with community members/patients (i.e., posting health educational materials vs. free clinic).
As such, primary care providers will be assigned to the following 8 treatment conditions:
1) volunteering alone for environmental sustainability without community contact (e.g., nature conservation); 2) volunteering with co-workers for environmental sustainability without community contact; 3) volunteering alone for environmental sustainability with community contact (e.g., nature education); 4) volunteering with co-workers for environmental sustainability with community contact; 5) volunteering alone for health promotion without community contact (e.g., posting health educational materials); 6) volunteering with co-workers for health promotion without community contact; 7) volunteering alone for health promotion with community contact (e.g., free clinic); and 8) volunteering with co-workers for health promotion with community contact.
Primary care providers in the 2 control groups (no volunteering) will be assigned to work as usual or have time off.
Data may be collected from doctors who did not sign up or from another urban hospital as the secondary comparison groups.