'Stepchildren of the Ministry': an examination of the difficulties endured by family physicians in Istanbul during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic
IntroductionEfforts to contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus would fall short without strong primary health care. AimIn this study, we aimed to understand family physicians’ experiences of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Istanbul, focusing on their coping strategies in order to draw lessons for the fu...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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CSIRO Publishing
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Journal of Primary Health Care |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.publish.csiro.au/hc/pdf/HC21141 |
| _version_ | 1798004473573933056 |
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| author | Ismail Jan Kara Adar Eken Hakan Döndürür Atakan Arzak Cansu Yildirim Seray Basak Bozkurt Yesim Yasin |
| author_facet | Ismail Jan Kara Adar Eken Hakan Döndürür Atakan Arzak Cansu Yildirim Seray Basak Bozkurt Yesim Yasin |
| author_sort | Ismail Jan Kara |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | IntroductionEfforts to contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus would fall short without strong primary health care.
AimIn this study, we aimed to understand family physicians’ experiences of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Istanbul, focusing on their coping strategies in order to draw lessons for the future management of pandemics.
MethodsTwelve community-based physicians working in Istanbul participated in semi-structured interviews between January and May 2021. Purposive sampling was used to ensure a range of physicians’ characteristics. Individual interviews were conducted with each participant on an online platform. Participants were asked 26 open-ended questions. Phenomenological analysis was performed to describe experiences of physicians.
ResultsThe physical conditions of participants’ health centres were insufficient to provide service safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most physicians were uncomfortable about the quality and quantity of personal protective equipment received from the Ministry of Health and took additional measures themselves. Vaccine supply was thought to be insufficient and there were problems with the associated software. Many family physicians highlighted the inadequate communication from the Ministry. Insufficient knowledge about the disease caused anxiety and fear for the physicians and hindered their performance at the beginning of the pandemic. Physicians who live with their families were more anxious than those who did not.
DiscussionDespite challenges, routine procedures have mostly been continued, but newly added responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic have had significant impact on physicians’ lives. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:25:19Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f5cead9f2dfd4208a9efb070130f5e5e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1172-6156 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T12:25:19Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | CSIRO Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Primary Health Care |
| spelling | doaj.art-f5cead9f2dfd4208a9efb070130f5e5e2022-12-22T04:23:59ZengCSIRO PublishingJournal of Primary Health Care1172-61562022-01-011415763HC21141'Stepchildren of the Ministry': an examination of the difficulties endured by family physicians in Istanbul during the course of the COVID-19 pandemicIsmail Jan Kara0Adar Eken1Hakan Döndürür2Atakan Arzak3Cansu Yildirim4Seray Basak Bozkurt5Yesim Yasin6Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Icerenkoy mah. Kayisdagi cad. No: 32, 34684 Atasehir-Istanbul, Turkey.Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Icerenkoy mah. Kayisdagi cad. No: 32, 34684 Atasehir-Istanbul, Turkey.Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Icerenkoy mah. Kayisdagi cad. No: 32, 34684 Atasehir-Istanbul, Turkey.Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Icerenkoy mah. Kayisdagi cad. No: 32, 34684 Atasehir-Istanbul, Turkey.Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Icerenkoy mah. Kayisdagi cad. No: 32, 34684 Atasehir-Istanbul, Turkey.Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Icerenkoy mah. Kayisdagi cad. No: 32, 34684 Atasehir-Istanbul, Turkey.Department of Public Health, School of Medicine, Acibadem Mehmet Ali Aydinlar University, Icerenkoy mah. Kayisdagi cad. No: 32, 34684 Atasehir-Istanbul, Turkey.IntroductionEfforts to contain the SARS-CoV-2 virus would fall short without strong primary health care. AimIn this study, we aimed to understand family physicians’ experiences of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Istanbul, focusing on their coping strategies in order to draw lessons for the future management of pandemics. MethodsTwelve community-based physicians working in Istanbul participated in semi-structured interviews between January and May 2021. Purposive sampling was used to ensure a range of physicians’ characteristics. Individual interviews were conducted with each participant on an online platform. Participants were asked 26 open-ended questions. Phenomenological analysis was performed to describe experiences of physicians. ResultsThe physical conditions of participants’ health centres were insufficient to provide service safely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Most physicians were uncomfortable about the quality and quantity of personal protective equipment received from the Ministry of Health and took additional measures themselves. Vaccine supply was thought to be insufficient and there were problems with the associated software. Many family physicians highlighted the inadequate communication from the Ministry. Insufficient knowledge about the disease caused anxiety and fear for the physicians and hindered their performance at the beginning of the pandemic. Physicians who live with their families were more anxious than those who did not. DiscussionDespite challenges, routine procedures have mostly been continued, but newly added responsibilities during the COVID-19 pandemic have had significant impact on physicians’ lives.https://www.publish.csiro.au/hc/pdf/HC21141ambulatory care,COVID-19family health centresfamily physicians,general practitionersIstanbulpandemicprimary health care |
| spellingShingle | Ismail Jan Kara Adar Eken Hakan Döndürür Atakan Arzak Cansu Yildirim Seray Basak Bozkurt Yesim Yasin 'Stepchildren of the Ministry': an examination of the difficulties endured by family physicians in Istanbul during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic Journal of Primary Health Care ambulatory care,COVID-19 family health centres family physicians,general practitioners Istanbul pandemic primary health care |
| title | 'Stepchildren of the Ministry': an examination of the difficulties endured by family physicians in Istanbul during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full | 'Stepchildren of the Ministry': an examination of the difficulties endured by family physicians in Istanbul during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_fullStr | 'Stepchildren of the Ministry': an examination of the difficulties endured by family physicians in Istanbul during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_full_unstemmed | 'Stepchildren of the Ministry': an examination of the difficulties endured by family physicians in Istanbul during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_short | 'Stepchildren of the Ministry': an examination of the difficulties endured by family physicians in Istanbul during the course of the COVID-19 pandemic |
| title_sort | stepchildren of the ministry an examination of the difficulties endured by family physicians in istanbul during the course of the covid 19 pandemic |
| topic | ambulatory care,COVID-19 family health centres family physicians,general practitioners Istanbul pandemic primary health care |
| url | https://www.publish.csiro.au/hc/pdf/HC21141 |
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