Primary care utilization in Türkiye: a national-level analysis

The motivation of the study is the idea that in Türkiye, where many changes and transformations have taken place and continue to take place, a transparent perspective can be offered to current policies by determining the frequency of individuals receiving services from family physicians. Based on the results obtained from the study, it is aimed to identify the gaps in the use of services from family physicians and to fill the gap regarding policies in this sense. The study uses the data set of the 2022 Türkiye Health Survey conducted by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat). The generalized ordered logit model was used to determine the frequency of service utilization from family physicians. According to the findings of the study, the majority of people in Türkiye receive frequent services from family physicians. It was determined that this frequency varies depending on sociodemographic, health status and consumption habits indicators. It is envisaged that the frequency of receiving services from family physicians can be increased with the health policies to be designed by the Ministry of Health for employment status, place of residence and private health insurance. Although health services in Türkiye are provided in line with the step system, there is no mandatory referral system. In this regard, people can make their health requests directly to hospitals. This situation not only increases the occupancy rates of hospitals but also confronts people with appointment problems. In line with the recently launched ‘Healthy Türkiye Century Program’, initiatives are being taken towards primary health care services in order to find solutions to these issues. The motivation of this study is the idea that a transparent perspective can be presented to the current policies by determining the frequency of service intake of individuals from family physicians, where many changes and transformations have been and continue to be experienced. According to the findings of the study, people in Türkiye frequently receive services from family physicians. This frequency was found to vary depending on sociodemographic, health status and consumption habits indicators. It has been concluded that the regulations made by the Ministry of Health for family health centers and the policies designed in this sense have an important role in the frequency of receiving services from family physicians. In this sense, it is predicted that the frequency of service utilization from family physicians can be increased through health policies to be designed for employment status, place of residence and private health insurance.