Building resilience in German primary care practices: a qualitative study

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Management
• Public Health Preparedness
• Primary Care Research

Background:

• Healthcare systems globally face numerous crises, including pandemics like COVID-19, impacting system resilience.
• Primary care practices are vital as the first point of contact and primary healthcare providers during crises.
• Understanding primary care's perception of crises and management strategies is crucial for health system strengthening.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore situations perceived as crises by primary care practice teams.
• To identify potential strategies for crisis management within primary care settings.

Main Methods:

• Qualitative observational study design.
• Data collection through interviews and focus groups with primary care professionals and stakeholders in Germany.
• Qualitative content analysis using rapid qualitative analysis and thematic analysis.

Main Results:

• Diverse situations identified as crises, ranging from practice-level issues to health system and international disasters.
• Key crisis perception factors include emotional responses, need for organizational change, and resource scarcity.
• Strategies discussed focus on enhancing communication within teams and building employee resilience for crisis response and prevention.

Conclusions:

• Primary health care workers' perspectives on health crises offer valuable insights for health policy.
• Findings can inform the prevention and management of future crises in primary care facilities.