Exploring primary and secondary healthcare physicians’ perceptions on pursuing population medicine as a main career: Implications for health policy and academia
Introduction Although population medicine is a cornerstone in preventing and controlling diseases, worldwide shortages of specialists in this field continue to rise. The aim of this study is to explore physicians’ (primary and secondary healthcare) perceptions on pursuing population medicine as a ma...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
European Publishing
2023-08-01
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| Series: | Population Medicine |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.populationmedicine.eu/Exploring-primary-and-secondary-healthcare-physicians-perceptions-on-pursuing-population,170905,0,2.html |
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| Summary: | Introduction
Although population medicine is a cornerstone in preventing and controlling diseases, worldwide shortages of specialists in this field continue to rise. The aim of this
study is to explore physicians’ (primary and secondary healthcare) perceptions on pursuing population medicine as a main career.
Methods
Responses were obtained via an online selfadministered questionnaire from Arabian Gulf University medical graduates, during the period February–April 2022, who had valid email addresses on the Alumni Association database. Information included demographic data, physicians’ employment health sector and medical career choices. In addition, perceptions towards pursuing a career in population medicine were documented.
Results
Completed questionnaires were received from 190 physicians, of whom 24.7% and 63.2% were in primary and secondary healthcare, respectively. While most of the physicians did not consider specializing in population medicine upon their undergraduate graduation (81%), those who ended specializing in primary healthcare (53.2%) were significantly more likely than their counterparts in secondary healthcare (17.5%) to consider pursuing a career in population medicine if they were to get the opportunity now (p<0.001). Further, 69.5% of physicians felt that there is a need to integrate training in population medicine as part of the clinical rotations.
Conclusions
While physicians’ attitudes towards population medicine remain unfavorable, primary healthcare physicians are more likely to pursue a career in this field. It would be worthwhile to incorporate population medicine within doctors’ clinical training. Further, preventive medicine and health promotion activities should be part of the undergraduate medical curricula as well as residency training programs. |
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| ISSN: | 2654-1459 |