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Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Led to Changes in the Tasks of the Primary Care Workforce? An International Survey among General Practices in 38 Countries (PRICOV-19)

Author

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  • Peter Groenewegen

    (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), 3500 BN Utrecht, The Netherlands
    Department of Sociology, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands
    Department of Human Geography, Utrecht University, 3584 CS Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Esther Van Poel

    (Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

  • Peter Spreeuwenberg

    (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), 3500 BN Utrecht, The Netherlands)

  • Ronald Batenburg

    (Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL), 3500 BN Utrecht, The Netherlands
    Department of Sociology, Radboud University, 6535 XN Nijmegen, The Netherlands)

  • Christian Mallen

    (School of Medicine, Keele University, Keele ST5 5BG, UK)

  • Liubove Murauskiene

    (Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Vilnius, 03101 Vilnius, Lithuania)

  • Antoni Peris

    (Castelldefels Agents de Salut (Casap), 08860 Castelldefels, Spain)

  • Benoit Pétré

    (Department of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liège, 4000 Liège, Belgium)

  • Emmily Schaubroeck

    (Institute of General Practice, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlan-gen-Nürnberg, Germany)

  • Stefanie Stark

    (Institute of General Practice, Friedrich-Alexander University Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU), 91054 Erlan-gen-Nürnberg, Germany)

  • Emil L. Sigurdsson

    (Department of family medicine, University of Iceland, 102 Reykjavík, Iceland)

  • Athina Tatsioni

    (Research Unit for General Medicine and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, 45110 Ioannina, Greece)

  • Kyriaki Vafeidou

    (Research Unit for General Medicine and Primary Health Care, Faculty of Medicine, 45110 Ioannina, Greece)

  • Sara Willems

    (Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, 9000 Ghent, Belgium)

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a large and varying impact on primary care. This paper studies changes in the tasks of general practitioners (GPs) and associated staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data from the PRICOV-19 study of 5093 GPs in 38 countries were used. We constructed a scale for task changes and performed multilevel analyses. The scale was reliable at both GP and country level. Clustering of task changes at country level was considerable (25%). During the pandemic, staff members were more involved in giving information and recommendations to patients contacting the practice by phone, and they were more involved in triage. GPs took on additional responsibilities and were more involved in reaching out to patients. Problems due to staff absence, when dealt with internally, were related to more task changes. Task changes were larger in practices employing a wider range of professional groups. Whilst GPs were happy with the task changes in practices with more changes, they also felt the need for further training. A higher-than-average proportion of elderly people and people with a chronic condition in the practice were related to task changes. The number of infections in a country during the first wave of the pandemic was related to task changes. Other characteristics at country level were not associated with task changes. Future research on the sustainability of task changes after the pandemic is needed.

Suggested Citation

  • Peter Groenewegen & Esther Van Poel & Peter Spreeuwenberg & Ronald Batenburg & Christian Mallen & Liubove Murauskiene & Antoni Peris & Benoit Pétré & Emmily Schaubroeck & Stefanie Stark & Emil L. Sigu, 2022. "Has the COVID-19 Pandemic Led to Changes in the Tasks of the Primary Care Workforce? An International Survey among General Practices in 38 Countries (PRICOV-19)," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(22), pages 1-20, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15329-:d:978351
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Kroezen, Marieke & Schäfer, Willemijn & Sermeus, Walter & Hansen, Johan & Batenburg, Ronald, 2018. "Healthcare assistants in EU Member States: An overview," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 122(10), pages 1109-1117.
    2. Groenewegen, Peter & Heinemann, Stephanie & Greß, Stefan & Schäfer, Willemijn, 2015. "Primary care practice composition in 34 countries," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 119(12), pages 1576-1583.
    3. Claire Collins & Els Clays & Esther Van Poel & Joanna Cholewa & Katica Tripkovic & Katarzyna Nessler & Ségolène de Rouffignac & Milena Šantrić Milićević & Zoran Bukumiric & Limor Adler & Cécile Ponsar, 2022. "Distress and Wellbeing among General Practitioners in 33 Countries during COVID-19: Results from the Cross-Sectional PRICOV-19 Study to Inform Health System Interventions," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-13, May.
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    Cited by:

    1. Majcherek, Dawid & Hegerty, Scott William & Kowalski, Arkadiusz Michał & Lewandowska, Małgorzata Stefania & Dikova, Desislava, 2024. "Opportunities for healthcare digitalization in Europe: Comparative analysis of inequalities in access to medical services," Health Policy, Elsevier, vol. 139(C).
    2. Aline Ramond-Roquin & Sylvain Gautier & Julien Le Breton & Yann Bourgueil & Tiphanie Bouchez, 2023. "French General Practitioners’ Adaptations for Patients with Suspected COVID-19 in May 2020," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(3), pages 1-12, January.
    3. Ferdinando Petrazzuoli & Claire Collins & Esther Van Poel & Athina Tatsioni & Sven Streit & Gazmend Bojaj & Radost Asenova & Kathryn Hoffmann & Jonila Gabrani & Zalika Klemenc-Ketis & Andrée Rochfort , 2023. "Differences between Rural and Urban Practices in the Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Outcomes from the PRICOV-19 Study in 38 Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(4), pages 1-13, February.

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