Characteristics of community health centers from the perspective of the centers' leading physicians

Objective: To determine the characteristics of the Community Health Centers (CHC) as evaluated by the Health Centers' Leading Physicians (CHCLP). Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted with all the CHC's leading physicians (LP) (n=971) in Turkey. Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) 1 regions were used to determine the distribution of the CHCLP. A questionnaire concenring the socio-demographic characteristics of the LP, their opinions about the job, the center's physical facilities and the working as a physician at CHC (CHCP) Results: A total of 611 (62.9%) physicians completed the questionnaire. Of these, 66.6% were male; 81.3% were working in rural areas; 37.8% were working at their first study place. The average working time of leading physicians in the center was 8.1±7.7 years, the average working time as a CHCLP was 2.2±1.9 years. Among the physicians, 63.8% had a negative opinion about prestige of CHCP; 43.9% had a negative opinion about future of CHM; 76.6% had a negative opinion about their authority; 64.2% had a negative opinion about being permanent at CHC. Among the CHCLPs, 43.7% reported the number of staff was insufficient; 57.3% were reported the qualifications of staff were too low; 68.9% reported the CHC's physical facilities was unsuitable. Conclusions: To improve the quality of CHC services, it is necessary to develop policies related with CHC.