The Perception of Chronic Disease Management of Family Physicians and Family Medicine Residents

Abstract

Aim: This study aims to evaluate the attitudes and behaviors of family physicians and family medicine residents working in primary care regarding the management of chronic diseases and the use of diagnosis and treatment guidelines. Methods: In the cross-sectional study, data were collected from the participants online, with the help of a questionnaire in the first part consisting of the sociodemographic characteristics of the physicians and their views, behaviors and attitudes about chronic care, and in the second part, a data form prepared by the researchers using the Patient Assessment of Chronic Illness Care Scale. Results: Of the participants, 57.3% use the diagnosis and treatment guidelines prepared for chronic diseases, 37.7% (n=148) do not use guidelines. The remaining 5.1% (n=20) are not aware of such guidelines. Among the physicians who do not use guides, 58.8% stated that they don’t use guides because they don’t have sufficient motivation to use the diagnosis and treatment guides in their daily practice, 49.3% don’t have enough time to use the guides, 29.1% don’t have foreign language proficiency to follow international guides. Conclusion: Family physicians will be able to take a more active role in the management of chronic diseases after the development of diagnostic treatment guides for primary care and the establishment of the necessary infrastructure for integrated information systems that can be accessed electronically. Keywords: chronic disease, family practice, physicians, disease management