Assessment of Unperceived Educational Needs of the Family Physicians Working in Comprehensive Health Centers in the Field of Cardiovascular Diseases in Tehran Province

Akbari Farmad, Somayeh; Akbarzadeh, Fariborz; Jamei, Maryam; Asgarian, Ramin

doi:10.22038/hmed.2025.86185.1488

Assessment of Unperceived Educational Needs of the Family Physicians Working in Comprehensive Health Centers in the Field of Cardiovascular Diseases in Tehran Province

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Somayeh Akbari Farmad ¹^{, 2}

Fariborz Akbarzadeh ²

Maryam Jamei ³

Ramin Asgarian ⁴

¹ Medical Education Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

² Department of Social Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran.

³ Department of Medical Education and Management, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

⁴ Community Medicine Specialist, Iran University of Medical Sciences.Tehran. Iran

10.22038/hmed.2025.86185.1488

Abstract

Introduction:Cardiovascular diseases are one of the most important causes of mortality and disability in the world. Identifying educational needs of family physicians in the field of CVDs improves diagnosis and treatment of CVDs. Unperceived educational needs are one of these needs that are always neglected. This research studies the unperceived educational needs of family physicians working in comprehensive health centers of Tehran province regarding CVDs.
Materials&Methods:In an analytical cross-sectional study, 40 physicians working in 8 comprehensive health centers of Tehran province, after completing a questionnaire on the frequency of CVDs and a self-report questionnaire with the aim of assessing the skill level and the amount of training needed in CVDs fields, participated in the clinical scenario test to determine the level of knowledge in CVD fields. All data were analyzed in spss-20 software using descriptive and inferential statistics (chi-squared test).
Results:Out of 4017 referrals due to CVDs, HTN (60%) and DM (36%) were the most common. In self-report, the skill level in CVDs was 59%, and the amount of training needed was 90%. "Information of family Physicians" was the lowest frequency of expressed skill level(49.4%) and was the most expressed need for education(96.67%). The frequency of the total scores of physicians in the clinical scenario test was 41.5%. "Syncope and cardiac arrest"(60.1%) got the highest score, and "tachycardia"(20.83%) and "cardiac conduction disorders"(25.67%) got the lowest scenario score. The frequency of scenario scores was not significantly different between urban and rural centers(P=0.07) and was lower than the self-reported skill scores (In Total, P<0.05) except for the field of "syncope and cardiac arrest"(P=0.09).
Conclusion:Despite the high prevalence of CVDs and risk factors, family physicians in comprehensive health centers have unperceived educational needs in CVD fields, which should be included in educational programs.

Acknowledgments: This study is an extract from the thesis for a master's degree in medical education at Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. The researchers would like to thank all persons who helped the research team.

Availability of data and materials:Data available on request / reasonable request.

Conflicts of interest: There are no conflicts of interest in this study.

Consent for publication: The manuscript dose not contain any individual person’s data in any form, therefore, consent for publication was not required.

Ethical approval and consent to participate:This study has an ethics code (IR.SBMU.SME.REC.1402.049) from the Research Ethics Committee of Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences. Before starting the study, the objectives and methods were fully explained to the participants and written informed consent was obtained from them. Also, all personal and private information of the participants was kept confidential and this study did not conflict with the religious and cultural norms of the society.The study was conducted in accordance with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.

Funding: There is no financial support for this study.

Authors’ Contributions:Conceptualization and study design: Akbari and Akbarzadeh. Data collection and processing: Akbari. Data analysis and interpretation: Akbari (80%) and Jamei (20%). Drafting of the manuscript: Jamei (70%) and Akbarzadeh (30%). Critical revision and scientific editing: Akbarzadeh (50%), Akbari (40%), and Jamei (20%). Finalization of the manuscript: Akbarzadeh (20%), Akbari (30%), and Jamei (10%). Supervision and accountability for all aspects of the study: Akbari (50%), Akbarzadeh (50%), and Jamei (30%).

Open Access Policy: This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0), which permits any non-commercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original author(s) and source are properly credited. To view a copy of this licence, visit.
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0

Keywords

Family Physician

Comprehensive Health Center

Educational Need

Cardiovascular disease (CVD)

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