Midwives’ occupational wellbeing and its determinants. A cross-sectional study among newly qualified and experienced Dutch midwives | 73 engagement. Independent variables were socio-demographic characteristics, job demands, job resources and personal resources. Participants As shown in figure 2, a random sample of practising midwives in the Netherlands was obtained from the Dutch midwives register of NIVEL (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research), supplemented by all NQMs (< 3 years after graduation) in their database (N=1,301). A total of 60 letters were returned to sender, resulting in a NIVEL register sample of N=1,241. Six respondents refused to give informed consent and were excluded. The net response rate was 54.5 percent (n=676). Announcements of this study in newsletters, on the website of the Royal Dutch Organisation of Midwives (KNOV) and in Facebook groups (midwifery academies, inspiration network of midwives) yielded another 461 respondents (Figure 2). Questionnaires that were less than 100 percent completed were excluded from the analyses (n=241), producing a total of 896 eligible respondents. Our sample represents 28 percent of the total population of practicing Dutch midwives 31. Ethics Ethical approval for this study is not formally required in the Netherlands. The Medical Ethical Assessment Committee of the University Medical Centre of Groningen confirmed that the research does not fall within the scope of the Medical Research Involving Human Subjects Act (WMO) (reference number 2018/628). Participant consent was obtained at the start of the questionnaire; participants could decide to stop filling in the questionnaire without explanation. Participant anonymity was assured as no name or other identifying data were collected. Data collection In December 2018, a letter was sent to the midwives in the NIVEL sample providing a brief introduction to the study, the aim of the study and a personal link to the questionnaire platform Qualtrics®. Reminders were sent four and eight weeks later. After two months, additional recruitment started with a call-up in newsletters and private Facebook groups for Dutch midwives. Respondents could obtain a link for the questionnaire by responding to the call-up. They could not participate twice, due to a built-in check in Qualtrics. The online questionnaire could be completed on a smartphone, tablet or computer/laptop. Participants could contact the researcher with questions by email. They were able to pause during the questionnaire and continue later.
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