Narratives in family medicine: a global perspective: The Besrour Papers: a series on the state of family medicine in the world (original) (raw)
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Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2016
To find a common global definition of family medicine. Since 2012, the College of Family Physicians of Canada has hosted the Besrour Conferences to reflect on its role in advancing the discipline of family medicine globally. The Besrour Papers Working Group, which was struck at the 2013 conference, was tasked with developing a series of papers to highlight the key issues, lessons learned, and outcomes emerging from the various activities of the Besrour collaboration. The working group comprised members of various academic departments of family medicine in Canada and abroad who attended the conferences. Searching both definition of family medicine and history of family medicine yields a variety of defining features. Visiting family medicine training programs worldwide highlights this discrepancy. It is not an easy task to define family medicine-one of its key attributes is its adaptability to a local context, but this makes aggregation of data challenging. There is a lack of clarity ...
A global picture of family medicine: the view from a WONCA Storybooth
BMC Family Practice
Background: Family Medicine is a novel discipline in many countries, where the motivation for training and value added to communities is not well-described. Our purpose was to understand the reason behind the choice of Family Medicine as a profession, the impact of Family Medicine on communities, and Family Medicine's characterizing qualities, as perceived by family doctors around the world. Methods: One-question video interviews were conducted using an appreciative inquiry approach, with volunteer participants at the 2016 World Organization of Family Doctors conference in Rio de Janeiro. Qualitative data analysis applied the thematic, framework method. Results: 135 family doctors from 55 countries participated in this study. Three overarching themes emerged: 1) key attributes of Family Medicine, 2) core Family Medicine values and 3) shared traits of family doctors. Family Medicine attributes and values were the key expressed motivators to join Family Medicine as a profession and were also among expressed factors that contributed to the impact of Family Medicine globally. Major sub-themes included the principles of comprehensive care, holistic care, continuity of care, patient centeredness, and the patient-provider relationship. Participants emphasized the importance of universal care, human rights, social justice and health equity. Conclusion: Family doctors around the world shared stories about their profession, presenting a heterogeneous picture of global Family Medicine unified by its attributes and values. These stories may inspire and serve as positive examples for Family Medicine programs, prospective students, advocates and other stakeholders.
Storylines of family medicine I: framing family medicine – history, values and perspectives
Family Medicine and Community Health, 2024
Storylines of Family Medicine is a 12-part series of thematically linked mini-essays with accompanying illustrations that explore the many dimensions of family medicine, as interpreted by individual family physicians and medical educators in the USA and elsewhere around the world. In ‘I: framing family medicine—history, values, and perspectives’, the authors address the following themes: ‘Notes on Storylines of Family Medicine’, ‘Family medicine—the generalist specialty’, ‘Family medicine’s achievements—a glass half full assessment’, ‘Family medicine’s next 50 years—toward filling our glasses’, ‘Four enduring truths of family medicine’, ‘Names matter’, ‘Family medicine at its core’ and ‘The ecology of medical care.’ May readers find much food for thought in these essays.
Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2017
To assess family medicine's role in developing strong, coordinated, community-based, integrated health care systems in low-resource settings globally. A subgroup of the Besrour Centre of the College of Family Physicians of Canada developed connections with selected international colleagues with expertise in international family medicine practice, health systems and capacity building, and teaching to map family medicine globally and give a bird's eye view of family medicine internationally. Following a background literature review, the authors collectively reflected on their substantial international experience to attempt to describe best practices for various contexts. With the failure of vertical, disease-oriented models to provide sustained improvements in health outcomes, the need to develop integrated primary care involving the most appropriate health professionals for differing contexts is becoming apparent worldwide. Health system planning is required to develop polici...
2015
OBJECTIVE To provide an overview of the main methodologic challenges to finding definitive evidence of the positive effects of family medicine and family medicine training on a global scale. COMPOSITION OF THE COMMITTEE In 2012, 2013, and 2014, the College of Family Physicians of Canada hosted the Besrour Conferences to reflect on its role in advancing the discipline of family medicine globally. The Besrour Papers Working Group, which was struck at the 2013 conference, was tasked with developing a series of papers to highlight the key issues, lessons learned, and outcomes emerging from the various activities of the Besrour collaboration. The working group comprised members of various academic departments of family medicine in Canada and abroad who attended the conferences. METHODS We performed a scoping review to determine the methodologic obstacles to understanding the positive effects of family medicine globally. REPORT The main obstacle to evaluating family medicine globally is t...
Storylines of family medicine II: foundational building blocks-context, community and health
Family Medicine and Community Health, 2024
Storylines of Family Medicine is a 12-part series of thematically linked mini-essays with accompanying illustrations that explore the many dimensions of family medicine, as interpreted by individual family physicians and medical educators in the USA and elsewhere around the world. In 'II: foundational building blockscontext, community and health', authors address the following themes: 'Context-grounding family medicine in time, place and being', 'Recentring community', 'Community-oriented primary care', 'Embeddedness in practice', 'The meaning of health', 'Disease, illness and sickness-core concepts', 'The biopsychosocial model', 'The biopsychosocial approach' and 'Family medicine as social medicine.' May readers grasp new implications for medical education and practice in these essays.
The Besrour Conferences: Collaborating to strengthen global family medicine
Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien, 2015
In 2010, Dr Sadok Besrour, a family physician affiliated with the University of Montreal in Quebec, challenged the College of Family Physicians of Canada (CFPC) to reflect on its role in advancing the discipline of family medicine globally. Providing vision and support, Dr Besrour invited the CFPC
Canadian family physician Médecin de famille canadien, 2009
To explore the conceptions that family medicine residents from 3 countries have of the roles and responsibilities of family physicians in order to gain a better understanding of challenges that might transcend the specific contexts of different health care systems. Qualitative study using focus groups. Resident training programs in France, Belgium, and Canada. A total of 57 residents in the last year of training. Ten focus groups were conducted in 3 countries: 2 in France, 3 in Belgium, and 5 in Canada. All focus groups were held in different cities, with residents registered in different universities in France and Canada and with residents from the same university in Belgium. The study was informed by Abbott's conceptual framework on the system of professions. Each 90-minute focus group was moderated by the same researchers. The transcripts were analyzed according to the immersion-crystallization method. Respondents shared common conceptions of the family physician's role: ...
Anniversary Series Family Medicine Voices From Family Medicine: Cooperation Across Disciplines
A variety of individuals lent their efforts to the establishment of family medicine as an academic discipline. Many had careers outside general or family practice, yet because of their interests and active involvement, they helped forge the way toward a rational and comprehensive education for family physicians in this country. In this transcript, edited from interviews conducted in 1992, four contributors from other disciplines discuss their perspectives on the history of family medicine.