Enhancing General Practitioner Resilience in Latvia: Challenges and Solutions

A well-developed primary healthcare system is essential for a high-performing healthcare system. Latvia faces challenges attracting general practitioners (GPs) and ensuring sufficient regional coverage. These difficulties stem from gaps in undergraduate and postgraduate education, socio-economic factors, and ineffective incentives at both national and municipal levels. The project aims to investigate the factors influencing the attraction and retention of new doctors to the GP specialty within Latvia\'s publicly funded healthcare sector. By adopting a multidisciplinary and internationally collaborative approach, the project aims to create new knowledge through the examination of evidence-based data and the analysis of governmental and municipal incentives. It will focus on factors that influence students\' and young doctors\' decisions to pursue a GP specialty, particularly in regions outside the capital. The study will provide short-term and long-term evidence-based policy recommendations and estimate their impact on the state budget. These recommendations will support the Ministry of Health and other stakeholders in attracting and retaining young GPs in the public sector. The project\'s findings will ultimately help strengthen Latvia\'s primary healthcare system and ensure better regional healthcare coverage.