Reflections of Australian general practitioners during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study
Seren Ovington A * , Katrina Anderson A , Melinda Choy A and Emily Haesler A B CA Academic Unit of General Practice, Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 2605, Australia.
B Curtin Health Innovation Research Institute, Curtin University, Perth, WA 6102, Australia.
C Australian Centre for Evidence Based Aged Care, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Vic. 3086, Australia.
Australian Journal of Primary Health 29(4) 395-402 https://doi.org/10.1071/PY22047
Submitted: 3 March 2022 Accepted: 10 January 2023 Published: 31 January 2023
© 2023 The Author(s) (or their employer(s)). Published by CSIRO Publishing on behalf of La Trobe University. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY)
Abstract
Background: General practitioners (GPs) have played an integral role in Australia’s coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic response. However, little is known about how GPs themselves have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to increase our understanding of the experiences of GPs working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Methods: A qualitative study was conducted using semi-structured interviews. Using purposive sampling, 15 GPs from South-Eastern Australia were asked to reflect on their experiences during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Interview transcripts underwent thematic analysis.
Results: Five main themes were identified: fear of infection; uncertainty and information overload; impacts on the government–GP relationship; impacts on the patient–doctor relationship; and teamwork within practices and among GPs.
Conclusions: The 15 GPs interviewed in this study provided valuable insights into their experiences working during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. From these insights, four recommendations propose what could be done to help support GPs to respond to a pandemic while continuing to deliver primary health care.
Keywords: COVID-19, fear, general practice, government-GP relationship, interviews, pandemic, patient-doctor relationship, primary health care, qualitative research, teamwork, thematic analysis, uncertainty.
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