Distance learning in primary health care: an Italian experience among medical residents to integrate public health and primary health care.

ABSTRACT

Investing in Primary Health Care (PHC) is crucial for the future of Public Health (PH), although recent studies highlighted the lack of training in PHC within Italian Residency Schools. This article intends to show the experience and impact of a training course focused on standardizing the knowledge of medical residents in Hygiene and preventive medicine regarding PHC. The strength of the intervention was to demonstrate the feasibility of a unique and homogeneous educational path throughout the national territory. From the results of the evaluation questionnaires, a strong approval of the training experience emerged, with a significant improvement in the perceived knowledge of the subject.