The experiences and thoughts of Turkish family physicians about COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study

Abstract

Background Efforts to contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus would fall short without strong primary health care. Objectives In this study, we aimed to determine the experiences, views and suggestions of family physicians regarding their roles, primary care health systems’ preparedness and the challenges/needs for a better organisation during the pandemic via in-depth exploration. Methods Twenty-one family physicians working in different cities of Turkey participated in semi-structured interviews between 15/08/2020-21/01/2021. Convenience sampling was used. We did this qualitative study through interviews by telephone. Participants were asked seven open-ended questions. Thematic analysis was used, which included reading the transcript, identifying significant phrases and formulating meanings and validating meanings through research team discussions to reach consensus, identifying themes. Results Ten of the participants were female and the average age of the participants was 39.5 (SD = 10.5) years. Twelve of the family physicians are specialists in family medicine. Four themes were identified: role of primary care in the pandemic, pandemic preparedness of primary care, challenges of working in primary care centres during the COVID-19 pandemics, and approaches to future pandemics. Conclusion Our study showed that, despite unprepared primary care and undefined roles of family physicians in pandemic planning, family physicians played a significant role in pandemic management.