Evaluation of family physician's viewpoint on premarital medical examination and tests

Objective: The objective of this study is to set forth the point of view of the family physicians on the premarital medical examination and tests and how the physicians evaluate this issue ethically as well as observe the practices of the family physicians and determine the differences in the practice. Material and Method: As the sampling group, all the family physicians and specialist family physicians working in the Malatya province was included in this study. A questionnaire we prepared concerning the premarital medical examination and tests was conducted to the primary care physicians working as the family physicians in Malatya. The questionnaire comprised of total 24 questions, 4 of which querying the socio-demographic characteristics of the family physicians and 20 of which asking about their viewpoint on the premarital medical examination and tests. In total, 152 family physicians participated in this study. Results: In our study, it is concluded that most of the family physicians working in Malatya regard the premarital medical examination and consultancy services as necessary and place emphasis this process. The answers given to our questionnaire showed that the family physicians face with the certain legal and ethical problems while preparing the reports. Conclusion: If new legal regulations are enacted about this subject, the family physicians may find better solutions for the problems they may encounter with during the premarital medical examination and tests, and cope with the ethical problems more easily. In addition, the quality of the premarital medical examination and consultancy services the family physicians provide will be much higher than anticipated.