Career choice in primary care: pre- and post-comparison of Honduran physicians completing social service
Rev Panam Salud Publica
; 41, dic. 2017
Article
in English
| PAHO-IRIS
| ID: phr-34514
Responsible library:
US1.1
ABSTRACT
[ABSTRACT]. Objective. To describe and compare patterns of specialty choice among physicians in Honduras before and after completing mandatory social service; and to identify and compare salary perceptions and factors that may influence their career choice. Methods. A quantitative methods approach was used on a cross-sectional questionnaire survey applied to 106 physicians completing social service in September 2015. Statistical analysis was performed using chi-square and factor analysis. Results. Interest in family medicine was low and declined from 2.2% before social service to 0.9% after. Median annual expected income was 19.5% lower overall compared to the beginning of social service, and in particular, for primary care specialties (US$ 17 733), it was significantly lower than for other specialties (US$ 27 281). Participants reported that the most important factors influencing career choice were income potential (23.3%), making a positive difference in people´s lives (19.4%), challenging work (10.7%), and perceived prestige (7.8%). Two factors were significantly associated with a preference for specialties other than primary care the opportunity to teach (P= 0.008) and “makes positive difference in people´s lives” (P = 0.005). When all categories were compared, “makes positive difference in people´s lives” (P = 0.043), and opportunities to practice with independence (P = 0.036) were factors significantly associated to career decision. Conclusion. Since interest in primary care among physicians decreased during social service and salary perception increased in favor of non-primary care careers, offering greater incentives for this specialty should be explored. Additional research to identify factors that might support the choice of a career in primary care are recommended.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
Databases of international organizations
Health context:
SDG3 - Target 3C: Increase health financing and the recruitment, development, training and retention of the health workforce
/
Sustainable Health Agenda for the Americas
Health problem:
Authority and Accountability for Healthcare Workers
/
Healthcare Workforce Management
/
Goal 3 Human resources for health
Database:
PAHO-IRIS
Main subject:
Primary Health Care
/
Specialization
/
Education, Medical, Graduate
/
Honduras
Type of study:
Observational study
/
Prevalence study
/
Prognostic study
Country/Region as subject:
Central America
/
Honduras
Language:
English
Year:
2017
Document type:
Article