[Professional profile of primary health care personnel. A Delphi study].

OBJECTIVE

To determine the professional profile of health staff (doctors, paediatricians and nurses) in primary care (PC).

DESIGN

Three simultaneous Delphi techniques (consensus method).

SETTING

Primary care.

PARTICIPANTS

55 doctors, 45 nurses and 23 paediatricians from the whole of Spain and different fields of activity.

INTERVENTION

The filling in of three questionnaires, using the Delphi methodology.

RESULTS

The overall percentage of replies was 69.1% (first questionnaire), 70.7% (2nd) and 60.16% (3th). The PC doctor should guide in a suitable way his/her community's health problems, using the relevant diagnostic and therapeutic methods, caring for patients' all-round health, controlling the doctor-patient interview, all in collaboration with other professionals, with a planning, programming and evaluation of his/her activity and a basically community-oriented approach. The nursing professional should provide all-round care for patients, using nursing diagnostic and therapeutic methods, within a multidisciplinary team and carrying out planning, programming and evaluation of the community's health problems. The PC paediatrician should be concerned with the prevention and treatment of the most common pathologies. He/she has a vital role to play in childrens' health education, should have the training to resolve the most common paediatric emergencies and organise his/her work within a multidisciplinary team.

CONCLUSIONS

The Delphi method is a useful technique for determining professional profiles. Paediatricians have a more sharply defined profile than doctors and nursing staff.