family medicine research.

A recent study published by the Web of Science (WoS) criticized universities'' ignoring the research production of family medicine in Saudi Arabia over the past 15 years, pointing out that research production is very weak, and that most of the research is published in ineffective journals, while the Consultant Family Medicine, Dr. Walid Abu Malha, that the recommendations that resulted from the study cannot be taken into account, and that they are not document and accurate and did not take the integrated scientific research methodology, referring to 5 reasons, the most important of which is that the study focused on a few years past 2016, and that the main researchers in the paper were From other departments and not from the Department of Family Medicine, and they were limited to only two reference words, which narrowed the scope of the search.

Abu Malha explained that scientific research is the accurate measure of progress for any country, so publishing scientific and research papers is one of the arms of this field, and we in the Kingdom have a good interest in this aspect, indicating the most important reasons for the shortcomings of this study, by saying: First we find that the study I focused only on a few years ago from 2016 only, and that the main researchers in this paper were from other departments and not from the Department of Family Medicine, and they mentioned that the number of research is small, and they did not mention the criteria they relied on, is it for the total of family doctors or compared to specialties Moreover, the search mechanism in the aforementioned study does not reflect the true number of studies published in the field of family medicine during the indicated time, and the use of the reference words “family medicine” and “Saudi Arabia”, the scope of the search is narrow, to the point that it omits more than Double the number referred to in the study, when you are now searching PubMed for:

family medicine -AND- Saudi Arabia finds approximately 637 studies

Primary Care -AND- Saudi Arabia finds approximately 611 studies

General Practice-AND- Saudi Arabia finds approximately 135 studies

Family Practice -AND- Saudi Arabia finds approximately 83 studies

Finally, we find that many family doctors participate in publishing many scientific papers whose main title does not bear the name of the specialty, but rather other medical and surgical specialties. This is because the specialty of family medicine includes all other medical specialties.

Scientific field

Abu Malha indicated that our research field is still somewhat short, and that the research centers, especially those in universities that must have the lead, are still poor in performance, and most of the research issued by them is theoretical that does not rise to applied and clinical research, in addition to the weak financial support for the various research centers. Also, all medical specialties, without exception, neither their scientific journals nor the research of their employees have risen to that level that gives a real scientific addition to society.

The importance of specialization

Abu Malha defined family medicine, as that medicine through which comprehensive primary health care is provided to all family members, regardless of age, gender and type of disease, whether behavioral, psychological or organic, and its role is to promote preventive family health. Family doctors (general practice physicians) in Western countries are between 30 to 50% of the total number of doctors, and in Saudi Arabia they reach roughly between 3 and 5%. The general internal medicine specialist, Dr. Muhammad Shawky, stated that the specialty of family medicine was found to sort and follow up cases since Childbirth, so the importance of specialization lies in the fact that it reduces the load on hospitals, saying: “When a patient goes to the Family Medicine Center, and he has a file from birth with all his medical record, from the smallest things like vaccinations to the problems and operations he has performed, then the medical practitioner decides if it is a case. The patient requires his transfer to the hospital, or he gives him treatment because hospitals give importance to advanced cases, so the patient gets speed in dealing with him in family medicine centers.

Problems

Shawky explained that there are problems facing applicants in the specialty of family medicine, namely the lack of widespread specialization, and that the specialization needs awareness and awareness of society of its importance, given that in Saudi Arabia it is considered new and many are overlooked, indicating that there must be facilitators for applicants to this specialization, such as the development of large centers To accommodate the largest number, as well as educational and training programs.

Study criticism

The study focused only on a few years past 2016 only

The main researchers on this paper were from other departments and not from the Department of Family Medicine

They mentioned that the number of studies is small, and they did not mention the criteria on which they relied. Is it for all family doctors or compared to other specialties?

The research mechanism in the study does not reflect the actual number of studies published in the field of family medicine during the indicated time, and the use of the reference words “family medicine” and “Saudi Arabia”, the narrow scope of the research

We find that many family doctors participate in publishing many scientific papers that do not bear the name of the specialty in their main title, but rather other medical and surgical specialties, in order to include all other medical specialties in the field of family medicine.