Perception of the Primary Care pediatricians of their relationship with Hospital Pediatrics

Abstract

Objective. To know the perception that Primary Care pediatricians (PCP) of Castilla y Leon have about their relationship with hospital pediatricians.

Population and methods. A survey was conducted among PCP to find out the relationship between healthcare levels in the 11 health areas of the Community. The questionnaire is anonymous and consists of 16 questions (two blocks): 9 about “how is/how we perceive the relationship between the PCP and the hospital” (first block) and 7 about “what is important for the PCP/what is asked to the hospital” (second block). It is scored on a Likert scale from 1 (not at all) to 5 (maximum).

Results. 134 pediatricians answer (84% women). 64% have 15 years of experience as PCP. 77% work as team pediatrician, and 64% in urban settings. 43% attends 800-999 patients. 24% are support tutors and 24% are trainers of medical students. Medians between 2 and 4 of Likert scores are observed in the first block of questions, and values are higher (4) in the second one. We find significant differences when making comparisons by Health Areas in all the questions in the first block and in most of them in the second.

Conclusión. The relationship between healthcare levels is acceptable as a whole with important differences among health areas