Family Physicians Feel Underprepared for Cancer Care Roles, Survey Finds

Family physicians are often the first doctors a patient meets, yet a new survey suggests they are only partially integrated into cancer control and feel poorly equipped for many of the tasks that role demands. The study, published in BMC Health Services Research, examined how family physicians view their responsibilities in cancer management, how competent they believe themselves to be, and what obstacles stand in the way of deeper involvement.

Researchers designed an online questionnaire and distributed it between 1 July 2020 and 30 June 2021 through the formal communication network of the Turkish Association of Family Physicians. Responses were analyzed with SPSS. A total of 200 family physicians completed the survey, forming the basis for the study’s conclusions about perceived competence, barriers, and possible solutions.

The results paint a picture of a workforce that recognizes its potential place in cancer care but is not sufficiently engaged in practice. Respondents reported feeling inadequately competent in particular areas, and the deficit was most pronounced after a cancer diagnosis had been made, when patients enter treatment and follow-up phases that family physicians rarely feel authorized or prepared to manage.

The diagnostic stage emerged as the most vulnerable link in the chain of cancer management. Participants described long waiting times between referral and diagnosis, limited access to laboratory and diagnostic tests, and a lack of diagnostic feedback returning to the family physician. Together, these gaps affect the ability of the primary care doctor who first suspected cancer to stay informed about the patient’s progress.

Structural and administrative barriers featured heavily in the responses. Physicians cited uncertainty about what their role in cancer management actually is, restricted authorization to prescribe essential medicines, lack of time, heavy workloads, non-essential duties, and administrative burdens. Insufficient education also ranked among the most frequently reported obstacles, pointing to a training gap rather than a failure of motivation alone.

The study went beyond cataloguing problems. Respondents proposed their own solution strategies to address the barriers they identified. Because the study also investigated the cause-and-effect relationships influencing family physicians’ role in cancer care, the proposed solutions were collected alongside the barriers rather than as free-standing policy proposals.

The authors conclude that family physicians currently have limited involvement in cancer control and that significant perceived barriers cut across multiple areas of active participation in cancer management. They argue that concrete steps should be taken to eliminate these barriers so that communities receive high-quality and equitable healthcare, with the diagnostic stage identified as the point where cancer management is most vulnerable.

The findings reflect the perspectives of 200 physicians reached through a professional association’s email network, so they describe perceived competence and perceived barriers rather than measured clinical outcomes. The authors note that the survey explores ways to enhance family physicians’ involvement in cancer control, an area where the multidisciplinary team approach required for effective cancer control depends on primary care as the initial point of patient contact.

Even with those limits, the survey offers a structured account of why the first point of contact in health systems may be underused in the fight against cancer. By documenting both the barriers and the physicians’ own proposed solutions, the study provides a basis for the concrete steps the authors say are needed to strengthen primary care’s role in cancer management and to deliver more equitable care to the community.

Subject of Research: Family physicians' roles, perceived competence, and barriers in cancer management

Article Title: Assessing family physicians’ perspectives, perceived competence, and involvement in cancer management to identify barriers and solutions

Article References: Çetin, A. G., & Sarı, O. (2026). Assessing family physicians’ perspectives, perceived competence, and involvement in cancer management to identify barriers and solutions. BMC Health Services Research. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-026-15404-2

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1186/s12913-026-15404-2

Keywords: family physicians, cancer control, primary care, diagnostic delays, perceived competence, barriers, survey, health services research, Turkey, cancer management, Assessing, family