Building social medicine competence in undergraduates via family follow-up studies in Türkiye
Abstract
Family Follow-up Studies have been a core component of Ankara University Faculty of Medicine’s curriculum since 2004. Third-year students visit assigned families ≥10 times annually. The aim is to train future physicians beyond hospital walls:to recognise families as social units, observe health behaviours longitudinally, develop communication and community-oriented competencies. This model is rare internationally and aligns with calls for socially accountable medical education. We tested whether a structured baseline survey on perceived healthcare access could be integrated into student visits and whether findings could inform priority-setting in subsequent encounters. Using a cross-sectional design, students administered a sociodemographic form and the Perceived Access to Healthcare Scale (subdimensions: accessibility, acceptability, accommodation, affordability) to consenting adults aged 18–65 in visited households. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained. 289 adults participated (58.5% female; 62.3% university-educated; 4.8% uninsured; 35.3% with chronic disease). Overall score was 3.9/5 (1.7–5.0); affordability was the weakest subdimension (median 3.3). Perceived access -both as subjective measure and scale scores- worsened significantly with declining self-rated economic status and health (both p < 0.001). Baseline data enabled students, under faculty supervision, to identify access barriers and tailor health education during follow-up visits. A longstanding family follow-up curriculum can be enriched by structured research that turns community exposure into measurable learning. Students gained competence in epidemiological methods, community engagement, equity-oriented reasoning; families received personalised guidance shaped by their data. The model shows how undergraduate medical training can build social medicine competence and generate locally relevant public health evidence, a transferable framework for medical schools across Europe.
Key messages: • Embedding a baseline access survey in student family visits turns home encounters into priority-setting tools for community health.
• A 20-year family follow-up curriculum equips medical students with both clinical and social medicine perspectives.
Related
- Grade- and programme-related differences in career planning competence among undergraduates at a Chinese university
- Theoretical Knowledge, Self-Assessed Competence, and Information-Seeking Behaviors in Evidence-Based Medicine Among Polish Medical Students: A Cross-Sectional Study
- Participatory sport consumption as capability building in later life: a framework for competence, connectedness, and active ageing.
- Prevalence and Patterns of Self-Reported Proton Pump Inhibitor Use Among Internal Medicine Outpatients: A Cross-Sectional Study from Türkiye
- Building primary health care from the ground up: family medicine, academic partnership, and health system reform in Ethiopia
BibTeX
@article{guvercin2026building,
title = {{Building social medicine competence in undergraduates via family follow-up studies in Türkiye}},
author = {H Güvercin and B Turan and E Taş and E Öntaş and B Kurt and C Koçak and M Ocaktan and D Odabaş},
journal = {The European Journal of Public Health},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1500},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1500},
note = {CC BY-NC 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Building social medicine competence in undergraduates via family follow-up studies in Türkiye
AU - H Güvercin
AU - B Turan
AU - E Taş
AU - E Öntaş
AU - B Kurt
AU - C Koçak
AU - M Ocaktan
AU - D Odabaş
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/01
JO - The European Journal of Public Health
DO - 10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1500
UR - https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckag169.1500
AB - Family Follow-up Studies have been a core component of Ankara University Faculty of Medicine’s curriculum since 2004. Third-year students visit assigned families ≥10 times annually. The aim is to train future physicians beyond hospital walls:to recognise families as social units, observe health behaviours longitudinally, develop communication and community-oriented competencies. This model is rare internationally and aligns with calls for socially accountable medical education. We tested whether a structured baseline survey on perceived healthcare access could be integrated into student visits and whether findings could inform priority-setting in subsequent encounters. Using a cross-sectional design, students administered a sociodemographic form and the Perceived Access to Healthcare Scale (subdimensions: accessibility, acceptability, accommodation, affordability) to consenting adults aged 18–65 in visited households. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained. 289 adults participated (58.5% female; 62.3% university-educated; 4.8% uninsured; 35.3% with chronic disease). Overall score was 3.9/5 (1.7–5.0); affordability was the weakest subdimension (median 3.3). Perceived access -both as subjective measure and scale scores- worsened significantly with declining self-rated economic status and health (both p < 0.001). Baseline data enabled students, under faculty supervision, to identify access barriers and tailor health education during follow-up visits. A longstanding family follow-up curriculum can be enriched by structured research that turns community exposure into measurable learning. Students gained competence in epidemiological methods, community engagement, equity-oriented reasoning; families received personalised guidance shaped by their data. The model shows how undergraduate medical training can build social medicine competence and generate locally relevant public health evidence, a transferable framework for medical schools across Europe. Key messages: • Embedding a baseline access survey in student family visits turns home encounters into priority-setting tools for community health. • A 20-year family follow-up curriculum equips medical students with both clinical and social medicine perspectives.
SN - 1101-1262
SN - 1464-360X
ER -