Family Medicine Residents’ Attitudes About Training in Ethiopia and the United States

Abstract

Background and Objectives: In Ethiopia, family medicine began in 2013. The objective of this study was to compare family medicine residents’ attitudes about training in Ethiopia with those at a program in the United States. Methods: Family medicine residents at Addis Ababa University in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and the University of Maryland in Baltimore, Maryland completed a 43-item Likert scale survey in 2017. The survey assessed residents’ attitudes about residency education, patient care, independence as family physicians, finances, impact of residency on personal life, and women’s issues. We calculated descriptive statistics on the demographics data and analyzed survey responses using a two-sample t-test. Results: A total of 18 (75%) Ethiopian residents and 18 (60%) US residents completed the survey (n=36). The Ethiopian residents had a wider age distribution (25-50 years) than the US residents (25-34 years). More US residents were female (72%) compared to the Ethiopian cohort (50%), while more Ethiopian residents were married (72%) compared to the US cohort (47%). There were statistically significant differences in attitudes toward patient care (P=0.005) and finances (P<0.001), differences approaching significance in attitudes toward residency education, and no significant differences in independence as family physicians, the impact of residency on personal life, and women’s issues in family medicine. Conclusions: Across two very different cultures, resident attitudes about independence as family physicians, the impact of residency on personal life and women’s issues, were largely similar, while cross-national differences in attitudes were found relative to residency education, patient care, and finances.