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

Haval Ali  Taher; Ali Shakir  Dauod

doi:10.56056/amj.2020.130

Authors

Haval Ali Taher M.B.Ch.B. Trainee of Kurdistan Higher Council of Family Medicine
Ali Shakir Dauod JBFM, Ph.D., MSc, M.B.Ch.B. Assist. Prof. of Family Medicine Department of Community Medicine. College of Medicine, Hawler Medical University Erbil, Iraq.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.56056/amj.2020.130

Keywords:

Family medicine, Primary health care, Social role

Abstract

Background and objectives: Family physicians have an important role in the management of personal and family-as- sociated 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.

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