Canadian family physician Médecin de famille canadien
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To characterize primary care physician and nurse practitioner ("GP") workload and availability, and any relationship with daytime, low-acuity emergency department (ED) and after-hours walk-in clinic (WIC) visit counts. ⋯ Sampled GPs manage a more complex patient population on average than their uncorrected roster sizes imply. There was no evidence that larger rosters or those with more patients with comorbid conditions reduced GP availability. Increasing physician availability might decrease WIC attendance.
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To describe Blueprint 2 (2018-2023), the 5-year strategic plan launched in 2018 by the Section of Researchers (SOR), as well as its guiding principles and the process used to develop it. ⋯ The ability of family physicians to identify, study, and cite their own evidence is essential to establishing the value and effect of primary care, including family medicine, in relation to Canadians' health and the Canadian health care system.
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We engage parents on a daily basis in the office to discuss immunization for their children, and some of them are hesitant about vaccination. Discussing the importance of vaccines for the child and the public, and reviewing the safety of vaccines has not led to substantial increases in acceptance in our office. What factors influence a parent's views of vaccines, and how can we effectively address them in practice? ⋯ Despite medical acceptance of vaccines and widespread accessibility, many Canadian children do not receive all their vaccines, and parental hesitancy has increased in the past 30 years. Thus, family physicians play an important role in addressing concerns that parents might have about vaccines and in increasing vaccine uptake. Determinants of vaccine hesitancy are heterogeneous and multifactorial. Factors that affect vaccine decision making include the perceived risks of vaccines, the relationship between parents and health care providers, and the social norm of vaccination. Communication strategies such as motivational interviewing and using presumptive language are valuable tools to increase vaccine uptake in children with vaccine-hesitant parents.