Family Adoption Program (FAP): Perspectives of Beneficiaries and Providers- An Explanatory Mixed Method Study

Abstract

Introduction- Over the years, medical education in India has expanded, shifting from classroom-based to community-based learning paradigms. The National Medical Commission (NMC) has mandated that all MBBS students must participate in the Family Adoption Programme (FAP). The aim of this study was and to understand the perspectives of adopted families, field workers, faculty and students and to ascertain the challenges and barriers associated with FAP.

Material and Methods- This study was conducted by Department of Community Medicine, Government Medical College, Haldwani, Uttarakhand. Students, faculty, field staff, members of adopted families were included in this study. It was a cross sectional study using mixed methods for data collection. A self-administered, close-ended questionnaire was used to collect data using the quantitative technique. Qualitative data was collected through in-depth interviews.

Results- Around 68% students felt that the FAP is beneficial for them and should be continued in its current form. 16% students faced difficulties in finding families and found barrier at family level. Qualitative analysis revealed methods advantages of FAP in terms of improvement of communication skills of the students and better patient dealing in future. Changes suggested were reduction in number of families and incorporation of evening posting hours.

Conclusion- The majority of the study participants thought that FAP was good, with regards to benefits to the community and medical undergraduates. We would recommend the changes suggested by the beneficiaries and providers to be incorporated in the Family Adoption Program.