Abstract
BackgroundEvidence from first world contexts support the notion that strong primary health care teams contain family physicians (FPs). African leaders are looking for evidence from their own context. The roles and scope of practice of FPs are also contextually defined. The South African family medicine discipline has agreed on six roles. These roles were incorporated into a family physician impact assessment tool, previously validated in the Western Cape Province.MethodsA cross-sectional study design was used to assess the perceived impact of family physicians across seven South African provinces. All FPs working in the district health system (DHS) of these seven provinces were invited to participate. Sixteen respondents (including the FP) per enrolled FP were asked to complete the validated 360-degree assessment tool.ResultsA total number of 52 FPs enrolled for the survey (a response rate of 56.5%) with a total number of 542 respondents. The mean number of respondents per FP was 10.4 (SD = 3.9). The perceived impact made by FPs was high for five of the six roles. Co-workers rated their FP’s impact across all six roles as higher, compared to the other doctors at the same facility. The perceived beneficial impact was experienced equally across the whole study setting, with no significant differences when comparing location (rural vs. metropolitan), facility type or training model (graduation before and ≥ 2011).ConclusionsThe findings support the need to increase the deployment of family physicians in the DHS and to increase the number being trained as per the national position paper.
Highlights
Evidence from first world contexts support the notion that strong primary health care teams contain family physicians (FPs)
Using a validated 360-degree impact assessment tool [29], this study aimed to evaluate the impact of FPs within the district health services of South Africa from the perspective of those working around them at district hospitals or primary care facilities
A total number of 52 FPs enrolled for the survey with a total number of 542 respondents
Summary
Evidence from first world contexts support the notion that strong primary health care teams contain family physicians (FPs). The South African family medicine discipline has agreed on six roles. These roles were incorporated into a family physician impact assessment tool, previously validated in the Western Cape Province. The 2008 World Health Report “Primary Health Care - More Than Ever” defines strong PHC systems as those systems which offer first contact care that is patient-centred with an orientation to the patient’s family and community context, embedded in a service that is comprehensive, integrated, continuous, and community-orientated, and in. The roles and scope of practice are contextually defined by factors such as whether the FP is the first contact person, whether the FP provides hospital based care and the skillsmix in the PHC team [11, 18]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
