Understanding access for those without a primary care provider

For the current study, we are seeking people to capture the experience of primary care visits of people who do not have a primary care provider. Study results will help inform how the unattached community members’ experience of primary care can be improved as the Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Ontario Health Team (FLA OHT) develops and implements the future Health Home model with the goal of providing primary care to all community members. Results will be shared on this page.

Study purpose

The purpose is to understand the experience of community members who do not have a family doctor or nurse practitioner as you try to access primary care through a tool called journey mapping. 

The study will be using a technique called 'journey mapping'. Journey mapping is a diagram or other visual representation of the process an individual goes through to accomplish a goal. This tool can be helpful in identifying barriers or process inefficiencies.

Background

The Frontenac, Lennox & Addington Ontario Health Team (FLA OHT) is developing a Health Home that aims to attach everyone to a primary care provider with a team-based approach. An important step in this process is understanding what people without a primary care provider are currently experiencing when they need primary care. The results of this study could help the FLA OHT achieve their goal that all community members seeking primary care have a team to go to for such care. 

This study has been reviewed for ethical compliance by the Queen’s University Health Sciences and Affiliated Teaching Hospitals Research Ethics Board.

Researchers

• Anna Chavlovski, MD FRCPC, Family Physician at Loyalist Family Health Team; Member of FLA OHT Access to Primary Care Working Group
• Monica LaBarge, PhD, MPH, MS, Assistant Professor and Researcher, Smith School of Business, Queen's University

For more information, contact Dr. Anna Chavlovski at Anna.chavlovski@queensu.ca