Attitude of family medicine residents toward team-based care in primary healthcare centers in Saudi Arabia

BACKGROUND: Team-based care (TBC) is becoming the standard method of delivering primary care services in Saudi Arabia. Family medicine residents are considered the future leaders who will apply the Saudi Ministry of Health (MOH) strategic transformation plans in practice. The aim of this study was to assess the attitude of family medicine residents toward TBC and the factors associated with their current attitudes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted between February and April 2022. The study targeted all Family Medicine residents rotating in primary healthcare centers of the Saudi MOH. A web-based survey was built using a modified version of the Attitudes Toward Health-Care Teams Scale. Data was analyzed using SPSS. Mann-Whitney U test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were performed to compare mean attitude scores between various study variables. RESULTS: The overall mean attitude score was 2.71; the mean scores for attitudes toward team value, team efficiency, and physicians shared role were 3.94, 2.47, and 1.71, respectively. The residents who had received TBC training had significantly higher mean scores for attitudes toward team value subscale compared to those who had no training (4.09 vs. 3.87, P = 0.038). Similarly, the mean score for same attitude subscale was significantly higher among those who practice TBC compared to those who do not (4.08 vs. 3.85, P = 0.038). CONCLUSION: The residents exhibited an overall positive attitude, especially toward team value; however, their understanding of physicians’ shared role in the team should be improved by training and practice with role models.