The perceptions and attitudes of medical doctors towards family medicine in Duhok City-Iraq

Abstract

Background and objectives: Family physicians have an important role in the management of personal and family-associated health conditions. The aim of this study was to explore the attitudes of medical specialists’ doctors towards family medicine and family practice as a discipline. Methods: A total of 150 doctors working in Duhok governorate were asked to present their opinions on professional characteristics and factors influencing the doctors’ opinions about family medicine and practice. Results: The mean age of medical doctors was 39.21 (SD: 6.22 years) with mean years of experience were 14.13 years. Majority of the participants were males (86.7%), and most of them working in both public and private sectors (84.7%). About two-third of participants (64.7%) agreed that the family medicine had a high level of scientific prestige equivalent to other specialties (61.3%) and that family practice is an interesting specialty from a research perspective (74.0%). A lower percentage (42.0%) reported that the specialty has a high status within the medical fields. However, a small percentage reported that can obtain a high salary (20%) if they were family physician. The most important factor that had an impact on the doctor’s opinion for family medicine selection was their experiences during the study (67%). The agreement of the doctors with different specialties towards the high salary of family medicine compared to other medical specialties was not significantly different. Conclusions: Most of the doctors in various disciplines emphasized that family medicine has an essential role in the management of a wide range of medical conditions with a critic on low salary.