Cad Saude Publica
August 2017
This article presents the results of a discrete choice experiment (DCE) conducted in 2012 with 277 final-year medical students from Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The experiment tested students' preferences concerning future work as physicians in primary health care, based on hypothetical job scenarios aimed at measuring the likelihood of placement in areas with a shortage of doctors. Application of DCE involved (i) a qualitative stage to define the attributes and their respective levels to comprise the job scenarios, (ii) construction and application of the instrument, and (iii) analysis with application of multinomial logit with conditional probability to estimate the weight of attributes and to construct scenarios for choice probability.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe purpose of this study was to characterize the scope of practice of physicians working in primary healthcare participating in the Mais Médicos (More Doctors) Program ('PMM') and investigate the factors associated with execution of a larger number of clinical activities. It is an exploratory study carried over January to March 2016, through a self-applied questionnaire containing a list of 49 procedures, activities and actions carried out in primary healthcare. A total of 1,241 physicians took part in the study, most of them female, between age 40 and 49, and of Cuban nationality.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe Mais Médicos (More Doctors) Program (PMM) was put in place in Brazil aiming to reduce inequalities in access to Primary Healthcare. Based on diverse evidence that pointed to a scenario of profound shortage of doctors in the country, one of its central thrusts was emergency provision of these professionals in vulnerable areas, referred to as the Mais Médicos para o Brasil (More Doctors for Brazil) Project. The article analyses the impact of the PMM in reducing shortage of physicians in Brazilian municipalities.
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