Opinions of the public on the functioning of GPs for adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic

Background
General practitioners (GPs) for adults are crucial to primary care in the Czech Republic. It is a type of outpatient facility and mostly a place of first contact for patients with the healthcare system. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the populations’ possibilities to use GPs were very changeable and difficult.

Objectives
The study assesses public opinions associated with the functioning of general practitioners for adults during the COVID-19 pandemic in the Czech Republic.

Material and methods
This quantitative survey of public opinions used a non-standardized questionnaire. The research sample consisted of 1,815 Czech citizens who were representative of age and gender. The actual field survey was conducted during March 2022. Statistical data processing was performed using SASD 1.4.12 and SPSS.

Results
The results show that education is a significant factor influencing the search for health care for problems related COVID-19, satisfaction with the availability of specialist outpatient clinics, satisfaction with the clarity of information on the availability of GPs, the use of general practitioner services, and methods for contacting a general practitioner. Age was a key factor influencing satisfaction with COVID-19 information, methods of contacting GPs, and openness to GPs making home visits.

Conclusions
The results show the opinion of the public and factors that need to be worked with to be able to provide appropriate and effective health care in the event of future pandemics. Effective and suitable organization of primary care is an important part of intervention in pandemic management.