The socio-demographic profile of family physician graduates of blended-learning courses in India

ABSTRACT India’s lean cadre of 250,000 general practitioners and 30,000 government doctors has limited options to update themselves. Since 2006, Christian Medical College (CMC) Vellore has run blended-learning programs in family medicine, namely, postgraduate diploma in family medicine (PGDFM) and master in medicine in family medicine (M.MED FM) training more than 3000 doctors. A graduate follow-up study was undertaken in 2022. The aim of the study was to describe the socio-demographic characteristics of family physicians (FPs) in India who graduated between 2008 and 2018 from the FM blended-learning programs run by the CMC, Vellore. Informed by an empirical-analytic paradigm, this descriptive study used a cross-sectional survey design to uncover graduate FPs’ profiles, practices and experiences. Using a purposively designed, piloted and validated electronic questionnaire, data were collected between March and July 2022, deidentified and analysed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS)TM and Epi InfoTM. Among the 438 FP respondents (36%), there was an almost even split in gender (49.3% male, 50.7% female). Moreover, 25.8% were below the age of 40 years, 37.4% were in the 40–49 age group, and 33.8% were 50 years of age or older; 86% lived and worked in urban areas. The PGDFM or M.MED FM was the highest educational qualification of 64.4% of the doctors. Male FPs pursued postgraduate studies at a significantly younger age and earned significantly more than their female counterparts. The blended learning model creates an important pathway for doctors, especially women, to pursue higher education with flexibility. Preferential selection criteria can target rural-based physicians. Strong policy-level advocacy is needed to establish FM as a specialty with equitable pay scales. Socio-demographic profiling can be used as an effective advocacy tool.