Building social medicine competence in undergraduates via family follow-up studies in Türkiye

Family Follow-up Studies have been a core component of Ankara University Faculty of Medicine’s curriculum since 2004. Third-year students visit assigned families ≥10 times annually. The aim is to train future physicians beyond hospital walls:to recognise families as social units, observe health behaviours longitudinally, develop communication and community-oriented competencies. This model is rare internationally and aligns with calls for socially accountable medical education. We tested whether a structured baseline survey on perceived healthcare access could be integrated into student visits and whether findings could inform priority-setting in subsequent encounters. Using a cross-sectional design, students administered a sociodemographic form and the Perceived Access to Healthcare Scale (subdimensions: accessibility, acceptability, accommodation, affordability) to consenting adults aged 18–65 in visited households. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained. 289 adults participated (58.5% female; 62.3% university-educated; 4.8% uninsured; 35.3% with chronic disease). Overall score was 3.9/5 (1.7–5.0); affordability was the weakest subdimension (median 3.3). Perceived access -both as subjective measure and scale scores- worsened significantly with declining self-rated economic status and health (both p < 0.001). Baseline data enabled students, under faculty supervision, to identify access barriers and tailor health education during follow-up visits. A longstanding family follow-up curriculum can be enriched by structured research that turns community exposure into measurable learning. Students gained competence in epidemiological methods, community engagement, equity-oriented reasoning; families received personalised guidance shaped by their data. The model shows how undergraduate medical training can build social medicine competence and generate locally relevant public health evidence, a transferable framework for medical schools across Europe.

Key messages

• Embedding a baseline access survey in student family visits turns home encounters into priority-setting tools for community health.

• A 20-year family follow-up curriculum equips medical students with both clinical and social medicine perspectives.