Determining the benefits and objectives of a child health residency program for Canadian rural family physicians: An international qualitative research study.

OBJECTIVES: To clarify the need for an advanced child health training program for Canadian rural family physicians, and to determine the key learning objectives to enable graduates to become community leaders in child and youth health care.
DESIGN: Qualitative educational research study.
SETTING: Canada and Australia.
METHODS: To gather data, the authors carried out semistructured interviews and focus groups with child care consultants, Canadian rural family physicians, child patients and parents, family medicine residents and Australian rural family physicians. Standards of qualitative methodology were applied to identify themes and subthemes.
RESULTS: IT WAS DETERMINED THAT A FAMILY MEDICINE CHILD HEALTH PROGRAM WOULD PROVIDE THE FOLLOWING BENEFITS: enhanced care by family physicians, improved access to child care, increased attractiveness of family medicine as a career and reduced 'specialty burden'. FIVE KEY LEARNING OBJECTIVES FOR GRADUATES WERE IDENTIFIED: the ability to provide child-centred care, to care for acutely or critically ill children, to care for children with complex needs, to recognize and act on 'red flags', and to provide behavioural and mental health care. The Australian general practitioners confirmed that their training provided most of these benefits, and enabled them to achieve the objectives identified.
CONCLUSION: The present study showed that multiple stakeholders believed that advanced training in child health for rural family physicians would provide better care for children. The study also identified key learning objectives for the program. The present research led to the establishment of a Family Medicine Child Health Residency Program (www.familymedicineuwo.ca/PostGrad/PGY3/ChildHealth.aspx) at The University of Western Ontario (London, Ontario).