Effect of a Training Program on Physicians’ Knowledge Regarding Family Medicine

Abstract

Egypt’s Health Sector Reform Program (HSRP) has envisioned a shift in Primary Health Care (PHC) provision approach to the concept of Family Medicine (FM). Within the reform strategies, the Ministry of Health and Population (MOHP) has performed continuous efforts in training General Practitioners (GPs) and medical graduates working in PHC facilities in FM either in Egyptian universities or abroad. The aim of the present study was to assess the effectiveness of a training program on PHC physicians, by measuring their knowledge about (FM) aspects, before and after the training course. A 44 days’ training program was provided to 20 PHC physicians in San Stefano FM center, Alexandria Governorate. The main objective of this course was to prepare the trainees for working in family practice. A self-administered questionnaire was designed to assess the physicians’ knowledge about different aspects of PHC and FM, both before and after the training. The results of the present study revealed that 70% of the physicians were males, in the age group 40 to <50 years. None of them had post graduate degrees in PHC and/or FM, and 40% had no training courses at all. A minority received 3 months training courses in FM either in the United Kingdom or in Saudi Arabia. The effectiveness of the training program was proved by the significant improvement in the mean total knowledge score of the physicians, from 75.15 in the pre-test, to 94 in the post-test. Also, similar significant improvement occurred in the mean knowledge score of 7 out of 11 subscales. Moreover 85% of the physicians had good knowledge in the post-test in comparison to 25% in the pre-test and none of them had poor knowledge in the post-test in comparison to 10% in the pre-test. This highlights the importance of Continuing Medical Education (CME) as well as training course in increasing physicians’ competency and ability to cope with new vision for delivering good quality health care.