ArticlePrimary health care research & development2022
Preferences of people in choosing a family physician in rural areas: a qualitative inquiry from Iran.
Article in Primary health care research & development, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Why Do Primary Care Patients Change Their Physicians: An Overview of the Literature.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2025Review
- Factors Influencing Paternalistic Clinical Environment in Iran: An Exploratory Research Brief.Journal of patient experience · 2025Article
- Self-rated health status and associated factors in Ilam, west of Iran: results of a population-based cross-sectional study.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- Conceptualizing lifer versus destination patients for optimized care delivery.BMC health services research · 2023Article
- Evaluating primary care networks in low-income and lower middle-income countries: a scoping review.BMJ global health · 2023Article
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6 authors.
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Abstract
backgroundCreating a stable and long-term relationship called 'longitudinality' between the population and general practitioners is crucial for the family physician program. The constant change of family physicians (FPs) can deteriorate longitudinality. This study aims to reveal what factors people usually consider when choosing a new FP or changing their current FP.
methodA qualitative study with a thematic analysis approach was carried out in Ilam province, Iran, in 2019. Purposeful sampling with a maximum variation strategy was followed to select the key informants. We did 34 interviews with following groups: patients (rural residents); FPs; and experts from Iran Health Insurance Organization, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, and Health Network Development Center. Data were analyzed using a thematic analysis to identify and contextualize the preferences of people in choosing a FP in rural areas. All the processes related to data coding and emerging themes were carried out using MAXQDA 2012 software.
resultsThe content of the interviews was categorized into 2 main themes, 6 sub-themes, and 39 codes. The first theme was 'family physician characteristics' including four sub-themes: general behaviors, social and physical characteristics, professional expertise, and pharmaceutical prescriptions. The second theme was 'health center' consisting of two sub-themes including location and physical features and properties of the health center.
conclusionSome of the factors extracted from the interviews may have a different effect on the choice of people with different demographics. For instance, patients may have different ideas about the age, gender, years of medical practice, and finally, language and origin of the birthplace of FPs. Quantitative studies are needed to rank the factors identified in this study according to their significance for choosing FP and reveal patients' preferences for each factor.
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