@article{article_256235, title={Characteristics of community health centers from the perspective of the centers’ leading physicians}, journal={Turkish Journal of Public Health}, volume={14}, pages={56–67}, year={2016}, DOI={10.20518/thsd.34735}, author={Gökler, Mehmet Enes and Ünal, Egemen and Aydın, Reşat and Öztürk Emiral, Gülsüm and Metintaş, Selma and Işıklı, Burhanettin and Önsüz, Muhammed Fatih}, keywords={Anahtar Kelimeler: Toplum Sağlığı Merkezleri,sağlık hizmetleri,sorumlu hekimler}, abstract={<p> <strong>Objective </strong>: To determine the characteristics of the Community Health Centers (CHC) as evaluated by the Health Centers’ Leading Physicians (CHCLP). <strong>Methods: </strong> This cross sectional study was conducted with all the CHC’s leading physicians (LP) (n=971) in Turkey. Nomenclature of Territorial Units for Statistics (NUTS) 1 regions were used to determine the distribution of the CHCLP. A questionnaire concenring the socio-demographic characteristics of the LP, their opinions about the job, the center’s physical facilities and the working as a physician at CHC (CHCP) <strong>Results: </strong> A total of 611 (62.9%) physicians completed the questionnaire. Of these, 66.6% were male; 81.3% were working in rural areas; 37.8% were working at their first study place. The average working time of leading physicians in the center was 8.1±7.7 years, the average working time as a CHCLP was 2.2±1.9 years. Among the physicians, 63.8% had a negative opinion about prestige of CHCP; 43.9% had a negative opinion about future of CHM; 76.6% had a negative opinion about their authority; 64.2% had a negative opinion about being permanent at CHC. Among the CHCLPs, 43.7% reported the number of staff was insufficient; 57.3% were reported the qualifications of staff were too low; 68.9% reported the CHC’s physical facilities was unsuitable. <strong>Conclusions: </strong> To improve the quality of CHC services, it is necessary to develop policies related with CHC. </p> <strong>Keywords </strong>: Community Health Centers, health services, leading physician}, number={2}, publisher={Halk Sağlığı Uzmanları Derneği}