| 1. |
- Leijon, Matti E., 1970-, et al.
(author)
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Factors associated with patients self-reported adherence to prescribed physical activity in routine primary health care
- 2010
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In: BMC Family Practice. - London, UK : BioMed Central. - 1471-2296. ; 11:38
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Written prescriptions of physical activity, so‐called physical activity referral (PAR) schemes, have increased in popularity in recent years. Such schemes have mostly been evaluated in terms of efficacy. This study reports on a Swedish PAR scheme implemented in routine primary health care (PHC) measuring patients’ self‐reported adherence to physical activity prescriptions. The aim of this study was to evaluate adherence to physical activity prescriptions issued in everyday PHC at 3 and 12 months and to analyse the different characteristics associated with adherence to these prescriptions.Methods: Prospective prescription data were obtained for 37 of the 42 PHC centres in Östergötland County, Sweden, during 2004. The study population consisted of 3300 patients issued PARs by ordinary PHC staff members. Odds ratios were calculated to identify the factors associated with adherence.Results: The average adherence rate was 56% at 3 months and 50% at 12 months. In the descriptive analyses, higher adherence was associated with increased age, higher activity level at baseline, home‐based activities, prescriptions issued by professional groups other than physicians, and among patients issued PARs due to diabetes, high blood pressure and “other PAR reasons”. In the multiple logistic regression models, higher adherence was associated with higher activity level at baseline, and to prescriptions including home‐based activities, both at 3 and 12 months.Conclusions: Prescriptions from ordinary staff in routine PHC yielded adherence in 50% of the patients in this routine care PAR scheme follow‐up. Patients’ activity level at baseline (being at least somewhat physically inactive) and being issued homebased activities were associated with higher adherence at both 3 and 12 months.
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| 2. |
- Andersson, Stig J, et al.
(author)
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General practitioners' conceptions about treatment of depression and factors that may influence their practice in this area. A postal survey
- 2005
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In: BMC Family Practice. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2296. ; 6:21
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: The way GPs work does not appear to be adapted to the needs of depressive patients. Therefore we wanted to examine Swedish GPs' conceptions of depressive disorders and their treatment and GPs' ideas of factors that may influence their manner of work with depressive patients. METHODS: A postal questionnaire to a stratified sample of 617 Swedish GPs. RESULTS: Most respondents assumed antidepressive drugs effective and did not assume that psychotherapy can replace drugs in depression treatment though many of them looked at psychotherapy as an essential complement. Nearly all respondents thought that clinical experiences had great importance in decision situations, but patients' own preferences and official clinical guidelines were also regarded as essential. As influences on their work, almost all surveyed GPs regarded experiences from general practice very important, and a majority also emphasised experiences from private life. Courses arranged by pharmaceutical companies were seen as essential sources of knowledge. A majority thought that psychiatrists did not provide sufficient help, while most respondents perceived they were well backed up by colleagues. CONCLUSION: GPs tend to emphasize experiences, both from clinical work and private life, and overlook influences of collegial dealings and ongoing CME as well as the effects of the pharmaceutical companies' marketing activities. Many GPs appear to need more evidence based knowledge about depressive disorders. Interventions to improve depression management have to be supporting and interactive, and should be combined with organisational reforms to improve co-operation with psychiatrists.
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| 3. |
- Bjerrum, Lars, et al.
(author)
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Health Alliance for prudent antibiotic prescribing in patients with respiratory tract infections (HAPPY AUDIT) -impact of a non-randomised multifaceted intervention programme
- 2011
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In: BMC Family Practice. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2296. ; 12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Excessive use of antibiotics is worldwide the most important reason for development of antimicrobial resistance. As antibiotic resistance may spread across borders, high prevalence countries may serve as a source of bacterial resistance for countries with a low prevalence. Therefore, bacterial resistance is an important issue with a potential serious impact on all countries. Initiatives have been taken to improve the quality of antibiotic prescribing in primary care, but only few studies have been designed to determine the effectiveness of multifaceted strategies across countries with different practice setting. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of a multifaceted intervention targeting general practitioners (GPs) and patients in six countries with different health organization and different prevalence of antibiotic resistance. Methods: GPs from two Nordic countries, two Baltic Countries and two Hispano-American countries registered patients with respiratory tract infections (RTIs) in 2008 and 2009. After first registration they received individual prescriber feedback and they were offered an intervention programme that included training courses, clinical guidelines, posters for waiting rooms, patient brochures and access to point of care tests (Strep A and C-Reactive Protein). Antibiotic prescribing rates were compared before and after the intervention. Results: A total of 440 GPs registered 47011 consultations; 24436 before the intervention (2008) and 22575 after the intervention (2009). After the intervention, the GPs significantly reduced the percentage of consultations resulting in an antibiotic prescription. In patients with lower RTI the GPs in Lithuania reduced the prescribing rate by 42%, in Russia by 25%, in Spain by 25%, and in Argentina by 9%. In patients with upper RTIs, the corresponding reductions in the antibiotic prescribing rates were in Lithania 20%, in Russia 15%, in Spain 9%, and in Argentina 5%. Conclusion: A multifaceted intervention programme targeting GPs and patients and focusing on improving diagnostic procedures in patients with RTIs may lead to a marked reduction in antibiotic prescribing. The pragmatic before-after design used may suffer from some limitations and the reduction in antibiotic prescribing could be influenced by factors not related to the intervention.
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| 4. |
- Bjerrum, Lars, et al.
(author)
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Health Alliance for Prudent Prescribing, Yield and Use of Antimicrobial Drugs in the Treatment of Respiratory Tract Infections (HAPPY AUDIT)
- 2010
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In: BMC Family Practice. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2296. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics is considered to be the most important reason for development of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. As antibiotic resistance may spread across borders, high prevalence countries may serve as a source of bacterial resistance for countries with a low prevalence. Therefore, bacterial resistance is an important issue with a potential serious impact on all countries. The majority of respiratory tract infections (RTIs) are treated in general practice. Most infections are caused by virus and antibiotics are therefore unlikely to have any clinical benefit. Several intervention initiatives have been taken to reduce the inappropriate use of antibiotics in primary health care, but the effectiveness of these interventions is only modest. Only few studies have been designed to determine the effectiveness of multifaceted strategies in countries with different practice setting. The aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a multifaceted intervention targeting general practitioners (GPs) and patients in six countries with different prevalence of antibiotic resistance: Two Nordic countries (Denmark and Sweden), two Baltic Countries (Lithuania and Kaliningrad-Russia) and two Hispano-American countries (Spain and Argentina). Methods/Design: HAPPY AUDIT was initiated in 2008 and the project is still ongoing. The project includes 15 partners from 9 countries. GPs participating in HAPPY AUDIT will be audited by the Audit Project Odense (APO) method. The APO method will be used at a multinational level involving GPs from six countries with different cultural background and different organisation of primary health care. Research on the effect of the intervention will be performed by analysing audit registrations carried out before and after the intervention. The intervention includes training courses on management of RTIs, dissemination of clinical guidelines with recommendations for diagnosis and treatment, posters for the waiting room, brochures to patients and implementation of point of care tests (Strep A and CRP) to be used in the GPs'surgeries. To ensure public awareness of the risk of resistant bacteria, media campaigns targeting both professionals and the public will be developed and the results will be published and widely disseminated at a Working Conference hosted by the World Association of Family Doctors (WONCA-Europe) at the end of the project period. Discussion: HAPPY AUDIT is an EU-financed project with the aim of contributing to the battle against antibiotic resistance through quality improvement of GPs' diagnosis and treatment of RTIs through development of intervention programmes targeting GPs, parents of young children and healthy adults. It is hypothesized that the use of multifaceted strategies combining active intervention by GPs will be effective in reducing prescribing of unnecessary antibiotics for RTIs and improving the use of appropriate antibiotics in suspected bacterial infections.
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| 5. |
- Dalemo, Sofia, et al.
(author)
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Variation in plasma calcium analysis in primary care in Sweden--a multilevel analysis.
- 2010
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In: BMC family practice. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2296. ; 11
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Primary hyperparathyroidism (pHPT) is a common disease that often remains undetected and causes severe disturbance especially in postmenopausal women. Therefore, national recommendations promoting early pHPT detection by plasma calcium (P-Ca) have been issued in Sweden. In this study we aimed to investigate variation of P-Ca analysis between physicians and health care centres (HCCs) in primary care in county of Skaraborg, Sweden.
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| 6. |
- Ekesbo, Rickard, et al.
(author)
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Lack of adherence to hypertension treatment guidelines among GPs in southern Sweden-A case report- based survey
- 2012
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In: BMC Family Practice. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2296. ; 13
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: General practitioners (GPs) often fail to correctly adhere to guidelines for the treatment of hypertension. The reasons for this are unclear, but could be related to lack of knowledge in assessing individual patients' cardiovascular disease risk. Our aim was to investigate how GPs in southern Sweden adhere to clinical guidelines for the treatment of hypertension when major cardiovascular risk factors are taken into consideration. Method: A questionnaire with five genuine cases of hypertension with different cardiovascular risk profiles was sent to a random sample of GPs in southern Sweden (n = 109) in order to investigate the attitude towards blood pressure (BP) treatment when major cardiovascular risk factors were present. Results: In general, GPs who responded tended to focus on the absolute target BP rather than assessing the entire cardiovascular risk factor profile. Thus, cases with the highest risk of cardiovascular disease were not treated accordingly. However, there was also a tendency to overtreat the lowest risk individuals. Furthermore, the BP levels for initiating pharmacological treatment varied widely (systolic BP 140-210 mmHg). ACE inhibitors (70%) were the most common first choice of pharmacological treatment. Conclusion: In this study, GPs in Southern Sweden were suggesting, for different cases, either under- or overtreatment in relation to current guidelines for treatment of hypertension. On reason may be that they failed to correctly assess individual cardiovascular risk factor profiles. Key points: Despite international and national clinical guidelines on the treatment of hypertension, general practitioners often fail to correctly assess the cardiovascular risk for patients in a clinical setting. Most GPs use target blood pressure levels but do not consider other cardiovascular risk factors. Both under- and overtreatment of high and low cardiovascular risk groups were seen in this study.
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| 7. |
- Hemborg Kristiansson, Mia, et al.
(author)
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Pain, power and patience - A narrative study of general practitioners' relations with chronic pain patients
- 2011
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In: BMC Family Practice. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2296. ; 12
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Chronic pain patients are common in general practice. In this study "chronic pain" is defined as diffuse musculoskeletal pain not due to inflammatory diseases or cancer. Effective patient-physician relations improve treatment results. The relationship between doctors and chronic pain patients is often dysfunctional. Consultation training for physicians and medical students can improve the professional ability to build effective relations, but this demands a thorough understanding of the problems in the relation. Several studies have defined the issues that frequently cause problems, but few have described the process. The aim of this study was to understand and illustrate what GPs' experience in contact with chronic pain patients and what works and does not work in these consultations. Methods: Our theoretical perspective is constructivist, based upon the relativist view that individuals construct realities to understand and navigate the world. Five Swedish General Practitioners (GPs), two male and three female, were interviewed and asked to tell a story about a difficult encounter with a chronic pain patient. Tapes of the interviews were transcribed and analysed using narrative analysis. Three GPs told narratives suited for our analytic tools and these were included in the final results. Results: Each narrative highlights a certain dilemma and a strategy. The dilemmas were: power game; good intentions that fail when a patient is persuaded against her own conviction; persuasion of the unwilling; transferred tiredness; distrust and dissociation from the patient. Professional strategies of listening, encouraging and teamwork were central to handling difficult situations. Conclusions: The narratives show that GP's consultations with chronic pain patients sometimes are characterized by conflicts and difficult situations. They are facilitated by methods such as active listening and teamwork, but still may remain hard to handle. This has not before been studied among Swedish GPs. Narratives based on experience are known to be successful in education and this study suggest how narratives can serve as a training of consultation for medical students, but also in Continuing Professional Development groups for experienced doctors in practice.
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| 8. |
- Isma, Gabriella, et al.
(author)
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Childhood overweight and obesity conceived by Child Health Care nurses: a qualitative study.
- 2012
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In: BMC Family Practice. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2296. ; 13:57
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Registered Sick Children's Nurses and District Nurses employed at Child Health Care centres are in a position to help prevent childhood overweight and obesity. Prevention of this challenging public health threat could be improved through having a better understanding of how this group of nurses perceives childhood obesity. The aim of this study was to elucidate the conceptions of childhood overweight, including obesity, among nurses working in Child Health Care. Method: A qualitative study using a phenomenographic approach, based on open-ended interviews with 18 Child Health Care nurses (CHC-nurses) strategically selected from 17 Child Health Care Centres in the southern part of Sweden. Results: Four categories of description emerged from the data: Perception of childhood overweight changes, Overweight in younger children a neglected concern, Overweight a delicate issue and Importance of family lifestyle. The participating CHC-nurses conceived overweight in children, primarily obesity in children to be an extensive and serious problem which affects children, families and the surrounding society. Overweight in children was further perceived as a consequence of their parent's lifestyle and their awareness of the problem, which was considered by the CHC-nurses as a sensitive and a provoking issue. It was also perceived that overweight in children is not taken seriously during the pre-school period and that concerns regarding overweight in younger children were mainly about the appearance and not the health of the child. The CHC-nurses perceived that the proportion of overweight children has increased, which Swedish society and the CHC-nurses have adapted to. This adaptation makes it difficult for CHC-nurses to define those children who are overweight. Conclusion: CHC-nurses provide a comprehensive and complex picture of childhood overweight, which includes several difficulties dealing with this issue. Attention to CHC-nurse's conceptions of overweight in children is important since it can affect the parent-nurse relationship and thereby the nurse's, as well as the parent's efforts to influence the children's weight. It is suggested that CHC nurses should work with person centered counseling and empowerment concerning parent to child relations in cases involving overweight.
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| 9. |
- Isma, Gabriella E, et al.
(author)
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Obstacles to the prevention of overweight and obesity in the context of child health care in Sweden
- 2013
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In: BMC Family Practice. - : BioMed Central. - 1471-2296. ; :14
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Overweight and obesity in younger children could better be brought in focus through a deeper understanding of how Child Health Care nurses (CHC-nurses) perceive their work with the problems of overweight at the CHC Centers. The aim of this study was to elucidate the CHC-nurses conceptions of their preventive work with childhood overweight and obesity in Child Health Care. A qualitative study, based on open-ended interviews, involving 18 CHC-nurses strategically selected from 17 CHC Centres in the southern part of Sweden using a phenomenographic approach. Two categories of description emerged from the data: (i) Internal obstacles to the CHC- nurses' work with overweight in children and (ii) External obstacles to the management of overweight in children. The CHC-nurses conceived their work with overweight in Child Health Care to be complicated and constrained by several obstacles depending on the nurses' personal priorities, knowledge, responsibility and the absence of resources and cooperation, as well as the lack of uniform guidelines for preventing and managing childhood overweight and further a deficient management organisation. Nurses' attention to monitoring overweight in children, and their initiative for prevention, is based on their conceptions of the obstacles that hinder them in their efforts. An increased awareness of the CHC-nurses conceptions of the priorities, their sense of responsibility and prevention practices is warranted. If measures in this direction are not taken there is a growing risk that overweight children will pass through the CHC without any formal recognition of their situation. There is an indication that the present level of the CHC-nurses' preventive work with childhood overweight has room for improvement in several areas. It is suggested that the specialist education of these health care professionals should be supplemented and that organisation of the management of childhood overweight should be also revised at the primary health care level.
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| 10. |
- Persson, Gerthi, et al.
(author)
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Physical activity on prescription (PAP) from the general practitioner's perspective - a qualitative study
- 2013
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In: BMC Family Practice. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1471-2296. ; 14
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background: Physical activity on prescription (PAP) is a successful intervention for increasing physical activity among patients with a sedentary lifestyle. The method seems to be sparsely used by general practitioners (GPs) and there is limited information about GPs' attitudes to counselling using PAP as a tool. The aim of the study was to explore and understand the meaning of prescribing physical activity from the general practitioner's perspective. Methods: Three focus group interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 15 Swedish GPs in the south of Sweden. Participants were invited to talk about their experience of using PAP. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, analysed using qualitative content analysis. Results: The analysis resulted in four categories: The tradition makes it hard to change attitude, Shared responsibility is necessary, PAP has low status and is regarded with distrust and Lack of procedures and clear guidelines. Traditionally GPs talk with patients about the importance of an increased level of physical activity but they do not prescribe physical activity as a treatment. Physician's education focuses on the use of pharmaceuticals. The responsibility for patients' physical activity level is shared with other health professionals, the patient and society. The GPs express reservations about prescribing physical activity. A heavy workload is a source of frustration. PAP is regarded with distrust and considered to be a task of less value and status. Using a prescription to emphasize an increased level is considered to be redundant and the GPs think it should be administered by someone else in the health care system. Scepticism about the result of the method was also expressed. Conclusions: There is uncertainty about using PAP as a treatment since physicians lack education in non-pharmaceutical methods. The GPs do not regard the written referral as a prioritized task and rather refer to other professionals in the health care system to prescribe PAP. GPs pointed out a need to create routines and arrangements for the method to gain credibility and become everyday practice among GPs.
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