Evaluating the sustainability of family physicians' knowledge in Armenia

Abstract

The quality of healthcare is suffering seriously in transition period in Armenia. Vital basic social services (healthcare and education) have rapidly become less accessible, in terms of both supply and demand. Little attention is paid to the quality of primary care, and in particular to the application of clinical competencies and critical thinking in clinical practice of family practice (FP) physicians. The intention of the proposed program is to assess the effectiveness of the family medicine training program twelve months after the implementation of family medicine in Armenia. The proposal is addressed to the Ministry of Health of the republic Armenia. The program is implemented in pilot polyclinics of Yerevan city and in polyclinic # 4 in city Vanadzor, which are the pioneers of family medicine implementation in Armenia. The target group is a group of family physicians from pilot polyclinics in Armenia, educated by the lectures and curriculum approved and supervised by the USAID Armenia Social Transition Program. In the core of the proposal stands a cross-sectional survey. This proposed project has an aim to evaluate the knowledge gained one year after the initiation of the FP education program. Questionnaire will measure the retained knowledge of the family physicians, comparing similar rates from the preceding twelve months of its implementation. The ultimate role of the proposed FP program in Armenia is huge. It would justify the costs and efforts of implementation of family medicine in Armenia and would help to ameliorate various problems in the healthcare system occurring under the conditions of the current market economy.