Family Physicians’ Work Load, Personal Protection and Isolation Behaviors in COVID-19 Pandemic

Year 2021, Volume: 7 Issue: 2, 289 - 295, 31.08.2021

Zerrin Gamsızkan

https://doi.org/10.19127/mbsjohs.984957

Abstract

Objective: COVID-19 pandemic, which has been affecting the world for months, has affected health workers both in terms of working conditions and personal lifestyle. The aim of this study is to identify the changing workload of family physicians actively working in our country and to determine the factors affecting social protection behaviors.

Methods: Between March 2020 and April 2020, a survey of 20 questions was conducted for family physicians via google forms.

Results: Data of 392 Physicians, 52.8% (n = 207) female and 47.2% (n = 185) male, were included in the study. While 33.4% (n = 131) stated that they lived in the same house but in a different room with their families, 48.2% (n = 189) stated that they applied social distance by staying at least one meter away from their families. If physicians had children, they applied social isolation significantly more (p<0.001). Having relatives with a chronic illness at home also resulted in a significant increase in social isolation (p<0.001). Family physicians stated that they spend an average of 1.8 (Min1-Max 3) hours per day for the purpose of guiding patients both at home and for other needs.

Conclusions: Primary care medicine has adapted to the situation by taking protective measures quickly in this pandemic, which has shaken the World. Family Physicians, whose most important task is preventive health service, performed their tasks in the follow-up and implementation of quarantine and home monitoring, even though they were sometimes away from their families.

Keywords

Pandemic, Family physician, COVID-19, Personel protection, Social isolation

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