Physician's perception on attracting and retaining factors in remote and underserved areas: shortage route

Abstract

The shortage and the maldistribution of physicians are severe and persistent problems in Brazil. Knowning what attracts and especially what retains these professionals in remote and underserved areas is essential to guide public policies aimed at this issue. This study investigated the main factors that attract and retain physicians in municipalities with shortage of physicians, composing the so-called "Shortage Routes"; 51 doctors in 10 routes covering the five regions of Brazil were in-depth interviewed. The content analyses identified six categories: wages, employment relationship, working conditions, work-related factors, local factors and personal factors, disaggregated in 27 subcategories; highlighting items as salary, flexibility of working hours, health facilities infrastructure, origin of the professional and infrastructure and leisure options in the city. The results show the importance of combining different incentives, financial and nonfinancial to attract doctors to remote and underserved areas.

Keywords:
shortage; physician; primary care; public health