title: Providing continuity of care to a specific population: Attracting new family physicians.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To analyze the factors that influence newly licensed family physicians in their decision to provide continuity of care to a specific primary care population.
  
  
  METHODS
  Mixed-methods study that included a self-administered online questionnaire for family physicians followed by individual interviews.
  
  
  METHODS
  Monteregie, the second-most populated region of Quebec, with rural and urban areas.
  
  
  METHODS
  All family physicians with 10 or fewer years of work experience who were practising in Monteregie were contacted (366 physicians). Of this group, 118 completed the online questionnaire (response rate of 32.2%). Of the respondents, 10 physicians with varied continuity of care profiles were selected for individual interviews.
  
  
  METHODS
  The percentage of work time spent on continuity of care analyzed in conjunction with factors that support or present barriers to continuity of care at the contextual and organizational levels and for family physicians and patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The main factors that facilitate continuity of care are the physician-patient relationship, interest in clinical continuity of care activities, positive role models, working alongside a nurse, and adequate access to resources, specifically mental health resources. The main barriers are the scope of administrative duties, interest in a comprehensive practice, a negative experience of continuity of care during training, a sense of inadequacy with respect to continuity of care, a heavy case load, and a lack of support in the first years of practice.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Possible ways to encourage newly licensed family physicians to provide continuity of care to a specific population are offered. Areas for improvement include medical training, administrative support, and human resources.
authors.affiliation: Medical resident in public health and preventive medicine at the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec. andreanne.roy@usherbrooke.ca.
authors.forename: Andréanne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Roy
authors.affiliation: Researcher at the Centre de recherche de l'Hôpital Charles-Le Moyne and Assistant Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke.
authors.forename: Mylaine
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Breton
authors.affiliation: Physician in the public health planning, assessment and research team of Direction de santé publique de la Montérégie, Associate Professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the University of Sherbrooke, and Director of the public health and preventive medicine residency program at the University of Sherbrooke.
authors.forename: Julie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loslier
mesh_terms: D003266:Continuity of Patient Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards*; D005194:Family Practice / Q000193:education*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D008297:Male; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D010821:Physicians, Family / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011792:Quebec