Objective
In reforming their health care systems the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, including the former Sovjet Union, show a keen interest in the introduction of general practice as a means to improve efficiency and continuity of care in a personal patient-doctor relationship. The current study is going to provide models of GP task provision in a large number of European countries. By another extension of this study, reference data collected with a uniform methodology will be available with respect to the primary care systems in the countries mentioned. This information will serve at least two goals. First, the delivery of primary health care, and recent developments in it, may be compared among the countries of the former East Bloc. Second, comparison of GP profiles in Western countries with the national data will enable authorities and the emerging professional GP organisations in these countries to delineate how to go from the current situation to the desired model. The aim of the proposed extension of the study is to describe and explain differences in the task provision of primary care doctors both within and between the Central and Eastern European countries. More specifically, the following task aspects will be studied: the application of medical techniques, the involvement in nonmedical problems and the involvement in prevention and health promotion. Additionally, practice conditions (eg. staff and equipment), workload and time spending will be investigated. This background information and information on the local health setting and characteristics of the country's health care system will be related to the range of tasks performed by GPs. Data are mainly collected at the level of individual doctors. Per country a sample of primary care doctors will be provided with the questionnaire and the simple workload diary in their own national language. Systematic data on the health care systems will result from desk research. In the preparatory stage of developing the measuring instruments some Central and Eastern European countries have been involved. Lack of resources has limited this co-operation so far.
The national co-ordinators will have an important role in the fieldwork in their country and, later, in the interpretation of the results. Data processing and -analysis will be done centrally. Finally, national coordinators will have the data at their disposal for their own purposes.
Call for proposal
Data not availableFunding Scheme
CSC - Cost-sharing contractsCoordinator
3500 BN UTRECHT
Netherlands