Maraqa Beesan, Nazzal Zaher, Zink Therese
College of Medicine, Hebron University, Hebron, Palestine
Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, An-Najah National University, Nablus, Palestine.
BJGP Open. 2025 Apr 24;9(1). doi: 10.3399/BJGPO.2024.0104. Print 2025 Apr.
Family medicine (FM), often known as general practice, is the foundation of sustainable and universal healthcare worldwide. As a new specialty in the Eastern Mediterranean Region (EMR), it must recruit doctors and gain public acceptability, which has traditionally favoured specialists.
This research examined studies on Arab populations' attitudes towards FM to discover the barriers to creating and embracing this vital specialty.
DESIGN & SETTING: This review was based on the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines and encompassed peer-reviewed articles from reputable sources such as PsycNet, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and grey literature.
A comprehensive search was conducted across databases for peer-reviewed studies that explored Arabs' awareness, perceptions, and attitudes towards FM and physicians.
After a rigorous selection process, 19 studies were deemed suitable for analysis. These studies encompassed diverse participants, including medical students, physicians, patients, and the general public. The overall perception of FM was positive, but it was noted that few had direct exposure to family physicians during their medical education or in the clinical setting.
Our review findings suggest the following five recommendations: (1) an education campaign for the general public about the role of FM; (2) increasing training capacity for family physicians; (3) early exposure to family physicians during medical school; (4) developing a process for continually improving the education and quality of family physicians; and (5) further research on the challenges to FM practice in Arab countries to understand the situation better and work toward its improvement.
家庭医学（FM），通常也被称为全科医学，是全球可持续和全民医疗保健的基础。作为东地中海区域（EMR）的一个新兴专业，它必须招募医生并获得公众认可，而传统上公众更青睐专科医生。
本研究调查了关于阿拉伯人群对家庭医学态度的研究，以发现建立和接纳这一重要专业的障碍。
本综述基于系统评价和Meta分析的首选报告项目（PRISMA）指南，涵盖了来自PsycNet、科学网、PubMed、Embase、Scopus等知名来源的同行评审文章以及灰色文献。
在各个数据库中进行全面搜索，以查找探索阿拉伯人对家庭医学和家庭医生的认知、看法及态度的同行评审研究。
经过严格的筛选过程，19项研究被认为适合进行分析。这些研究涵盖了不同的参与者，包括医学生、医生、患者和普通公众。对家庭医学的总体看法是积极的，但值得注意的是，很少有人在医学教育期间或临床环境中直接接触过家庭医生。
我们的综述结果提出了以下五项建议：（1）针对普通公众开展关于家庭医学作用的教育活动；（2）提高家庭医生的培训能力；（3）在医学院校期间尽早接触家庭医生；（4）建立一个不断提高家庭医生教育水平和质量的流程；（5）进一步研究阿拉伯国家家庭医学实践面临的挑战，以便更好地了解情况并努力加以改善。
