Training and application of community-oriented primary care (COPC) through family medicine in Catalonia, Spain

The community-oriented primary care (COPC) approach, implemented in various countries by family physicians, general practitioners, and other primary care workers, integrates clinical medicine with aspects of public health. A process of 20 years of training health professionals (40-hour workshop) by the professional association of family physicians (Catalan Society of Family and Community Medicine), training family medicine residents and giving support to health teams in Catalonia, Spain, generated a present group of 30 primary care teams involved in community health projects. This paper describes and analyzes factors related to changes in the health system, the role of family medicine in Spain, and to features of the COPC approach and its training methods as elements that narrow the gap between training and practice.