Increased resilience of educational practices during COVID-19 in Hungarian primary care

Zoltán Lakó-Futó, Esther Van Poel, Sara Willems, Krisztián Vörös, Péter Torzsa

Keywords: COVID-19, primary care, PRICOV19, epidemic, educational practices

Background:

The PRICOV-19 research focused on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care. Educational practices (EP) were associated with the provision of better quality of care and higher patient satisfaction.

Research questions:

Our aim was to compare the characteristics of EPs vs non-EPs during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Method:

The research consortium collected data using questionnaires filled out on a voluntary basis by general practitioners (GP). The research took place in 38 European countries. We analyzed the data collected in Hungary.

Results:

Practices with at least one GP trainee were considered educational practice (EP). The number of registered patients were higher in EPs (1834±639 vs 1998±546, p=0.045). These practices rated higher the number of elderly patients on their list on a Likert-scale (1.27±0.67 vs 1.53±55, p=0.36).
EPs had more GPs working in the practice (1.1±0.36 vs 1.4±0.45, p=0.011), and the total number of employees was also higher (2.6±1.3 vs 3.1±1.4, p=0.006).
GP teachers were more likely to increase infection control to protect the staff (89.7% vs 100%, p=0.045).
EPs were more likely to ask their patients to give the exact reason for the appointment when scheduling (62.1% vs 87.5%, p=0.027), and to give information on which symptoms should not be brought to the practice (37.6% vs 62.5%, p=0.039). Information for referral to the triage station was more often readily available in EPs (59.6% vs 82.4%, p=0.007).
EP doctors were more likely to agree that their job was meaningful (72.4% vs 91.2%, p=0.024), however, they did not score higher on the Mayo Clinic Well-being Index.

Conclusions:

Despite caring for a larger and older population, EPs doctors working in larger teams, preserved job satisfaction, and managed to apply strict infection control and patient flow rules. Teaching in primary care may be associated with resilience, better care and mental health of care providers.

Points for discussion:

COVID 19 epidemic

educational practices

mentalhealth

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