Knowledge, attitudes, and practice of primary care professionals regarding community activities: a descriptive study

Background Promoting health via a community approach is one of the most effective strategies for reducing the current incidence of chronic diseases. Primary care (PC), through the implementation of community activities (CA), has the potential to achieve this goal. Yet the implementation of CA at hea...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Mosteiro Miguéns, Diego Gabriel, Zapata Cachafeiro, Maruxa, Novío Mallón, Silvia, Vieito Pérez, Natalia, Alfonso González, Tania, Rodríguez Fernández, Almudena
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2024
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Santiago de Compostela (USC)
Repositorio:Minerva. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Santiago de Compostela
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:minerva.usc.gal:10347/39874
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10347/39874
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Attitude
Community activities
Healthy lifestyle
Health promotion
Knowledge
Primary health care
Descripción
Sumario:Background Promoting health via a community approach is one of the most effective strategies for reducing the current incidence of chronic diseases. Primary care (PC), through the implementation of community activities (CA), has the potential to achieve this goal. Yet the implementation of CA at health centers is not standardized and is often thanks only to the voluntariness of health professionals. Objective To ascertain the knowledge, attitudes, and practices of PC professionals regarding the implementation of CA. Methods We carried out a cross-sectional study by circulating a self-administered online questionnaire on CA, across the period December 2022 through June 2023 in Galicia (Spain). All health professionals working in the Galician Health Service PC setting were invited to participate. Results A total of 521 health professionals participated in the study. They included all types of PC health professionals (physicians, general and specialist nurses -midwives, pediatrics, family and community, mental health- and social workers), including residents in training. Only 14.8% and 12.5% of professionals correctly identified CAs and social prescription (SPr) interventions, respectively. Furthermore, 93.9% recognized that the development of CA in health centers was deficient. Despite this, 76.5% showed a good attitude toward participation in CA. Conclusions PC professionals find it difficult to identify CA and SPr interventions. Therefore, it is necessary to improve the training of these professionals in the implementation of CA with a view to enhancing population health, reducing the incidence of chronic diseases, and helping lessen the healthcare burden of the health system.