An appraisal: How notifiable infectious diseases are reported by Hungarian family physicians

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Primary care obesity management in Hungary: evaluation of the knowledge, practice and attitudes of family physicians

BACKGROUND: Obesity, a threatening pandemic, has an important public health implication. Before proper medication is available, primary care providers will have a distinguished role in prevention and management. Their performance may be influenced by many factors but their personal motivation is still an under-researched area. METHOD: The knowledge, attitudes and practice were reviewed in this questionnaire study involving a representative sample of 10% of all Hungarian family physicians. In different settings, 521 practitioners (448 GPs and 73 residents/vocational trainees) were questioned using a validated questionnaire. RESULTS: The knowledge about multimorbidity, a main consequence of obesity, was balanced.Only 51% of the GPs were aware of the diagnostic threshold for obesity; awareness being higher in cities (60%) and the highest among residents (90%). They also considered obesity an illness rather than an aesthetic issue.There were wider differences regarding attitudes and practice, influenced by the the doctors' age, gender, known BMI, previous qualification, less by working location.GPs with qualification in family medicine alone considered obesity management as higher professional satisfaction, compared to physicians who had previously other board qualification (77%vs68%). They measured their patients' waist circumference and waist/hip ratio (72%vs62%) more frequently, provided the obese with dietary advice more often, while this service was less frequent among capital-based doctors who accepted the self-reported body weight dates by patients more frequently / commonly. Similar reduced activity and weight-measurement in outdoor clothing were more typical among older doctors.Diagnosis based on BMI alone was the highest in cities (85%). Consultations were significantly shorter in practices with a higher number of enrolled patients and were longer by female providers who consulted longer with patients about the suspected causes of developing obesity (65%vs44%) and offered dietary records for patients significantly more frequently (65%vs52%). Most of the younger doctors agreed that obesity management was a primary care issue.Doctors in the normal BMI range were unanimous that they should be a model for their patients (94%vs81%). CONCLUSION: More education of primary care physicians, available practical guidelines and higher community involvement are needed to improve the obesity management in Hungary

Rural family medicine as a career option among Hungarian medical students

The shortage of family physicians is a considerable challenge in Hungary. The number of vacant practices is increasing and the rural and deprived areas are more affected.This study aimed to investigate medical students' attitudes towards rural family medicine.The current study used a cross-sectional design with a self-administered questionnaire. Each of the four Hungarian medical universities was represented by their medical students from December 2019 to April 2020.The response rate was 67.3% (n = 465/691). Only 5% of the participants plan to be a family doctor, 5% of the students plan to work in rural areas. On a 5-point Likert scale (1 = 'surely not', 5 = 'surely yes'), half of the participants answered 1 or 2 to choose rural medical work, while 17.5% answered 4 or 5. There was a significant relationship between rural working plans and rural origin (OR = 1.97; p = 0.024), and the plan to work in family practice (OR = 4.90; p < 0.001).Family medicine is not a popular career option among Hungarian medical students and rural medical work is even less attractive. Medical students with a rural origin and an interest in family medicine are more likely to plan to work in rural areas. More objective information and experience need to be given to medical students about rural family medicine to increase the attractiveness of the speciality

Az I. és az V. évfolyamos orvostanhallgatók dohányzási szokásai és leszoktatással kapcsolatos attitűdjei = Medical students’ smoking habits and attitudes about cessation

Az orvosi egyetemen töltött időszak fontos a jövőbeli orvosok attitűdjeinek formálásában. Bizonyított, hogy a dohányos orvosok kevésbé tanácsolják a betegeiknek a leszokást. Ismernünk kell az orvostanhallgatók dohányzási szokásait és leszokásról alkotott attitűdjeit ahhoz, hogy a dohányzás elleni harcban minden orvost érdekeltté tudjunk tenni. Célkitűzés: Az orvostanhallgatók dohányzási szokásainak és a leszoktatással kapcsolatos attitűdjeinek felmérése. Módszerek: A felméréshez a Globális Egészségügyes Hallgatóknak szóló Felmérés kérdőívének magyar fordítását használtuk. Az I. és V. évfolyamos orvostanhallgatók anonim módon gyakorlatokon töltötték ki a kérdőívet. A statisztikai analízist SPSS programmal végeztük. Eredmények: Összesen 245 hallgató töltötte ki a kérdőívet. Az I. évfolyamon 30,8%, míg az V. évfolyamon 39,8% tekinthető dohányosnak. Adataink alapján az egyetem során a hozzászokás, az elszívott cigaretta mennyisége növekszik meg a felsőbb évfolyamra. A hallgatók igényelnék a leszoktatásról szóló képzést, de magát a leszoktatást leginkább speciális szakemberre bíznák. Következtetés: Fontos lenne egy önálló, dohányzással és leszoktatással foglalkozó kurzus kidolgozása a curriculumon belül. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 469–474. | Medical years are very important in shaping the attitudes of future doctors. It is proven that doctors who smoke do not advise their patient to stop smoking. We have to know the students’ smoking habits and attitudes about smoking cessation to make them interested in the fight against tobacco. Aims: To investigate medical students’ smoking habits and attitudes about cessation. Methods: We applied the Hungarian translation of the Global Health Professionals Student Survey. Medical students from the first and fifth year filled in the survey anonymously during the seminars. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS. Results: In both years 245 students filled in the questionnaire. In the first year 30.8%, in the fifth year 38.9% of the students were defined as smokers. During the academic study the number of daily smokers and the number of smoked cigarettes increases. Students require training about smoking cessation, however they would entrust it to a specialist. Conclusions: Based on our data we need a teaching block in the curricula about smoking and smoking cessation. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 469–474

Orvostanhallgatók viszonyulása a dohányzáshoz és a dohányzással kapcsolatos rendelkezésekhez = Attitude of medical students to regulatory measures related to tobacco smoking

A szigorú dohányzásellenes intézkedésekkel már számos országban sikerült hatékonyan csökkenteni a dohányzó emberek számát. Habár azonnali hatás nem volt érezhető, a dohányzás okozta egészségügyi kiadások jövőbeli csökkenése várható. Fontosnak tűnik az egészségügyi szakemberek dohányzással kapcsolatos szemlélete. Célkitűzés: A szerzők felmérésükben azt vizsgálták, hogyan viszonyulnak az orvostanhallgatók a dohányzáshoz, és felmérték a dohányzásellenes intézkedésekkel kapcsolatos attitűdjeiket. Módszerek: A felméréshez a Globális Egészségügyi Hallgatóknak szóló Felmérés kérdőívének magyar fordítását használták, és a szerzők a szabályozással kapcsolatos kérdéseket értékelték. A kérdőívet I. és V. évfolyamos orvostanhallgatók töltötték ki. A statisztikai analízist SPSS programmal végezték. Eredmények: Összesen 245 hallgató töltötte ki a kérdőívet. A hallgatók által jól ismert a dohányzás egészségkárosító hatása, mégis sok időt töltenek el dohányfüstös környezetben (68%-ban otthon, 85%-ban otthonukon kívül). Véleményük a dohányzásellenes szabályozásról elsősorban a jelenlegi törvénykezést tükrözi, így például csupán a hallgatók 43%-a tiltaná ki a dohányzást a diszkókból/bárokból. Következtetés: Az egészségügyi szakembereknek aktívabban kell részt venniük a megelőzésben és a dohányzásellenes szabályozásban. Az orvostanhallgatókat képezni kell ebben a témában. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 828–833. | In some countries strict tobacco control measures successfully reduced the number of smokers. Although these measures do not have immediate effects, they may serve as investments in the future healthcare. Health care experts should take part actively in the decision making. Aims: To investigate medical students’ relation to smoking and their attitudes about tobacco control measures. Methods: Authors applied the Hungarian translation of the Global Health Professionals Student Survey. Medical students from the first and fifth year filled in the survey anonymously during the seminars. Statistical analysis was performed with SPSS. Results: Altogether 245 students completed the questionnaire. It was found that the knowledge of students about health damages caused by tobacco smoking was very good. However, a large number of students are exposed to tobacco smoke (68% of them at home and 85% at public places). Their opinion about tobacco control measures reflects recent law, as only 43% of the students would support a smoking ban in bars and discotheques. Conclusions: Hungarian health care experts have to take part with more effort in the prevention of tobacco smoking. Medical students have to be trained in this field. Orv. Hetil., 2011, 152, 828–833

Orvostanhallgatók szakterület-választással kapcsolatos motivációi, fókuszban a háziorvosi hivatás = Hungarian medical students’ career choice motivations, focused on family medicine

A magyar alapellátást jelentős humánerőforrás-krízis fenyegeti. A tartósan betöltetlen háziorvosi praxisok száma folyamatosan növekszik. A háziorvosi szakképzésbe újonnan belépő orvosok száma nem elégséges a kedvezőtlen tendencia megállítására. Kulcskérdés a háziorvosi pálya népszerűségének növelése, az orvostanhallgatók minél nagyobb arányban az alapellátás irányába történő orientálása. 2019. december és 2020. április között 465 fő negyed- és ötödéves orvostanhallgató bevonásával megvalósult kérdőíves keresztmetszeti vizsgálat. A hallgatók 5%-a tervez háziorvosként dolgozni a jövőben. Második választandó szakirányként a háziorvostant a hallgatók 4,7%-a, harmadikként 8%-a jelölte meg. A háziorvosi hivatás presztízsét a válaszadók 5 fokozatú Likert-skálán általánosságban átlagosnak, egyéb szakterületen dolgozó szakorvosok között inkább rossznak (átlag: 3,13 vs. 2,39; medián: 3 vs. 2; módusz: 3 vs. 2), ítélik. A pályával kapcsolatos leggyakoribb negatív elképzelések: ala­csony presztízs (44,3%), túl sok adminisztráció (41,9%). A vonzerő növelését szolgáló leggyakoribb elképzelések: „más területen részmunkaidőben végezhető mun­ka” (56,7%), „jobb presztízs” (48,1%), „ma­gasabb fizetés” (47,4%). Jelenleg kevés hallgató készül háziorvosi pályára. Ebben szerepet játszhat a szakterület alacsony presztízse, illetve a hiteles információk hiánya a háziorvosok jövedelmével kapcsolatban. Kulcs­fon­tosságú lenne az orvosképzés során a gyakorlatorientált oktatás szerepének növelése, a praxisközösségi munka és a praxisok átlagos bevételének megismertetése a hallgatókkal. = INTRODUCTION – Hungarian primary care is facing a major human resource crisis. The number of permanently vacant GP practices constantly increases. The number of new doctors entering to the GP training is insufficient to reverse this negative trend. The main goal is to increase the popularity of family medicine and to orient as many medical students towards primary care as possible. METHOD – Cross-sectional survey with 465 fourth and fifth year medical students who attended in family medicine course from December 2019 to April 2020. RESULTS – 5% of the students plan to work as a general practitioner in the future. General pactice was the second choice of 4.7% of students and the third choice of 8%. The prestige of the profession, on a 5-point Likert scale, generally rates as average, but rather poor among other fields’ specialists (average: 3.13 vs. 2.39; median: 3 vs. 2; mo - de: 3 vs. 2). The most common negative perceptions about the speciality are low prestige (44.3%), too much administration (41.9%). The most common ideas for increasing the attractiveness are “part-time work in another field” (56.7%), “better prestige” (48.1%), “higher salary” (47.4%). CONCLUSIONS – Few medical students plan to work as general practitioners in the future. This may be due to the low prestige of the family medicine profession and the lack of credible information on GPs’ salaries. In the future, it would be important to increase the role of practice-oriented education in medical training, and to familiarise students with the work in community practice and the average income of a family practitioner

Rural family medicine as a career option among Hungarian medical students

AbstractBackground The shortage of family physicians is a considerable challenge in Hungary. The number of vacant practices is increasing and the rural and deprived areas are more affected.Objectives This study aimed to investigate medical students’ attitudes towards rural family medicine.Methods The current study used a cross-sectional design with a self-administered questionnaire. Each of the four Hungarian medical universities was represented by their medical students from December 2019 to April 2020.Results The response rate was 67.3% (n = 465/691). Only 5% of the participants plan to be a family doctor, 5% of the students plan to work in rural areas. On a 5-point Likert scale (1 = ‘surely not’, 5 = ‘surely yes’), half of the participants answered 1 or 2 to choose rural medical work, while 17.5% answered 4 or 5. There was a significant relationship between rural working plans and rural origin (OR = 1.97; p = 0.024), and the plan to work in family practice (OR = 4.90; p < 0.001).Conclusion Family medicine is not a popular career option among Hungarian medical students and rural medical work is even less attractive. Medical students with a rural origin and an interest in family medicine are more likely to plan to work in rural areas. More objective information and experience need to be given to medical students about rural family medicine to increase the attractiveness of the speciality