A systematic review of arab community perceptions and awareness of family medicine.

Background: Family medicine, 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 favored specialists.
Aim: This research examined studies on Arab populations' attitudes toward family medicine and the specialty to discover barriers to creating and embracing this vital specialty.
Design & Setting: This review was based on the PRISMA guidelines and encompassed peer-reviewed articles from reputable sources such as PsychNet, Web of Science, PubMed, Embase, Scopus, and grey literature.
Method: A comprehensive search was conducted across databases for peer-reviewed studies that explored Arabs' awareness, perceptions, and attitudes toward family medicine and physicians.
Results: After a rigorous selection process, nineteen studies were deemed suitable for analysis. These studies encompassed diverse participants, including medical students, physicians, patients, and the general public. The overall perception of family medicine was positive, but it was noted that few had direct exposure to family physicians during their medical education or in the clinical setting.
Conclusion: Our review suggests five significant efforts: 1) an education campaign for the general public about the role of Family Medicine; 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 physician, 5) Further research on the challenges to FM practice in Arab countries are required to understand the situation better and work toward its improvement.
(Copyright © 2024, The Authors.)