Background European Medical Students’ Association (EMSA) and International Federation of Medical Students’ Associations (IFMSA) are two leading student organizations advocating for better health in Europe and the World. How student organizations support global public health policy and particularly which topics students place greater emphasis on are not documented, although it is crucial to understand their involvement and areas of interest. Methods Data on the valid policy documents of the last three years until April 2019 were retrieved from the official websites of EMSA and IFMSA. These documents were categorized using abstract submission tracks of the 12th European Public Health Conference. Results Twenty-nine policy documents were retrieved, ten of which were from EMSA and 19 from IFMSA. Fourteen of all 22 abstract submission tracks (63.6%) were covered by these policy documents. Of all policy documents, 20.7% fell under the track of ’infectious diseases, preparedness and vaccines’. Most commonly advocated topic in policy documents of IFMSA was infectious diseases and vaccines, whereas that of EMSA was healthy living and health promotion. Conclusions Medical students often take part in health policy by conveying their perspectives and calling other stakeholders to action via their policy documents. Policy documents of IFMSA were more related to global health challenges such as infectious diseases while special concerns in Europe such as healthy living and health promotion dominated EMSA’s policies. In the near future, more student advocacy work on climate change, noncommunicable diseases and primary health care would be expected in accordance with ’ten threats to global health in 2019’ announced by the World Health Organization. Key messages Medical student organizations, EMSA and IFMSA, are important stakeholders in health policy. The focus of their policy documents differs, and this trend is influenced by changing public health challenges in Europe and the World.
Background The pre-participation screening is crucial as the risk of sudden death for competitive athletes is higher than that of non-athletes. In Turkey, screening could be performed at the primary health care setting both by family medicine specialists (FMSs) and by general practitioners (GPs). Although there is a guideline, there is no legal regulation for the process. The aim of this study is to evaluate the approach of primary care physicians in pre-participation screening. Methods An online questionnaire based on the Turkish Medical Association (TMA) guideline, and the 14-item Screening Guideline of the American Heart Association (AHA) was delivered to primary care physicians. Knowledge, experience and approach of the physicians were assessed. Self-confidence, application of AHA criteria, accurate referral ratios and further test requests were taken as outcome measures. Descriptive and inferential analyzes were performed and p < 0.05 was considered significant. Results Of 214 participants, 39.3% were women, the average age was 44.9 years, the average work experience was 7.9 years. 89.7% of the participants were aware of their authorization, 90.2% had previously given this report, but only 6.5% feels confident. Only 13.1% knows the presence of TMA guideline, and only 23.8% states being educated on the subject at any part of their career. More than 60% of the participants consider further testing necessary in addition to medical history and physical examination. Blood and urine test requests were significantly more for GPs compared to FMSs (p = 0.026, p = 0.011). Accurate referral decision ratio was only 59.3% with no difference between FMSs and GPs (p = 0.216). Work experience had no effect on any of the outcomes. Conclusions As the legal regulations and awareness of the guideline are insufficient, pre-participation screening is not standardized, and this increases tendency for further testing or referral. Key messages The pre-participation screening of athletes in Turkey is not standardized among primary care physicians. Further testing request ratio is high and accurate referral ratio is low.
In this paper, we aim to share our experiences and observations made during the obligatory primary care internship at a Family Health Center and a Community Health Center. We noted our experiences in a systematic manner using the key characteristics of good primary care provision defined in World Health Organization Primary Care Evaluation Tool (access to the services, comprehensiveness, continuity and coordination of care). We also pointed out the importance of a medical education curriculum for Primary Health Care (PHC) focusing on the potential struggles of the new graduates. Eventually, we realized that PHC is an underestimated topic within medical education and stronger PHC in Turkey would greatly benefit the patients and the system. Demographic features of the district in which we have worked had both its unique advantages and disadvantages. We observed that most of the problems encountered during the provision of PHC in these centers were due to flawed coordination among primary and other level providers, suboptimal work environment and conditions including high number of patients per primary care physician, underestimation of certain preventive services such as family planning and a need for better health information systems. We believe that undergraduate training at PHC level should be emphasized and undertaken through an effective partnership between stakeholders.
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