Current status of family medicine in Kenya; family physicians’ perception of their role
African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine
| Field | Value | |
| Title | Current status of family medicine in Kenya; family physicians’ perception of their role | |
| Creator | Momanyi, Kaja Dinant, Geert-Jan Bouwmans, Marlieke Jaarsma, Simone Chege, Patrick | |
| Description | Background: Family medicine (FM) was introduced in Kenya in 2005. Up to date (August 2019), 42 family physicians have graduated from Kenyan Universities.Aim: The aim of the study was to establish the current state of FM in Kenya and identify areas for more research and actions to support and improve FM in Kenya.Setting: Interviews were conducted at the different work sites of the participants, four of them in hospitals, one at a University and one in a hotel where a FM conference was held.Methods: An online questionnaire (response rate = 56%) and six semi-structured interviews were conducted amongst family physicians who completed their studies in Kenya. However, the focus was on the interviews.Results: Family physicians have different ideas of how FM should look like ideally, but all agree that family physicians should be team leaders of a primary healthcare team, taking care of a defined population. Lack of policies, low numbers of family physicians and the misunderstanding of FM by all stakeholders are the major challenges. Sixty-four percent of the participants work in rural areas, and 77% perceive their current work as FM.Conclusion: Family medicine must be defined and properly promoted. Various areas have been identified that require further research: assessing required number of family physicians, reasons and solutions for the low number of family physicians, funding possibilities, and research the most suitable definition of a Kenyan family physician. | |
| Publisher | AOSIS | |
| Date | 2020-09-21 | |
| Identifier | 10.4102/phcfm.v12i1.2404 | |
| Source | African Journal of Primary Health Care & Family Medicine; Vol 12, No 1 (2020); 4 pages 2071-2936 2071-2928 | |
| Language | eng | |
| Relation |
The following web links (URLs) may trigger a file download or direct you to an alternative webpage to gain access to a publication file format of the published article:
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2404/4230
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2404/4229
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2404/4231
https://phcfm.org/index.php/phcfm/article/view/2404/4228
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