"What do you mean I can't have a doctor? this is Canada!" - a qualitative study of the myriad consequences for unattached patients awaiting primary care attachment.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Patient access to primary healthcare (PHC) is the foundation of a strong healthcare system and healthy populations. Attachment to a regular PHC provider, a key to healthcare access, has seen a decline in some jurisdictions. This study explored the consequences of unattachment from a patient perspective, an under-studied phenomenon to date.

Methods

A realist-informed qualitative study was conducted with unattached patients in Nova Scotia, Canada. Semi-structured interviews with nine participants were conducted and transcribed for analysis. The framework method was used to carry out analysis, which was guided by Donabedian's model of assessing healthcare access and quality.

Results

Five key findings were noted in this study: 1) Participants experienced a rang

SUBMITTER: Marshall EG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8966849 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature