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Socioeconomic status and barriers for contacting the general practitioner when bothered by erectile dysfunction: a population-based cross-sectional study.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Erectile dysfunction (ED) is common and impacts psychosocial wellbeing negatively. Many do not seek medical attention and several barriers for healthcare seeking with ED exist. Little is known about the association between socioeconomic characteristics of the patient and barriers for healthcare-seeking for men bothered by ED. The objectives of the study were 1) to estimate the proportion of men bothered by ED, who do not contact the GP, 2) to analyse the frequencies of selected barriers for healthcare seeking and 3) to analyse associations between socioeconomic factors and barriers for contacting the GP. METHODS:Data derive from a nationwide survey of symptom experiences among 100,000 randomly selected individuals aged 20?years and above. The questionnaire comprises, among other, questions about ED. This study focuses on men who reported bothersome ED and further reported, that they did not contact a GP regarding the symptom. Questions addressing barriers regarding GP contact included embarrassment, worrying about wasting the doctor's time, being too busy, and worrying about what the doctor might find. Information about socioeconomic characteristics was obtained from Statistics Denmark. RESULTS:A total of 4072 men (18.3%) reported that they had experienced ED within the past four weeks. Of those, 2888 (70.9%) were categorized as having bothersome ED. In the group of men with bothersome ED 1802 (62.4%) did not contact the GP and 60.5% reported barriers for GP-contact. Of the reported barriers, the most frequent was 'being too embarrassed' (29.7%). In general, respondents in the older age groups were less likely to report embarrassment, business and worrying what the doctor might find. Respondents with highest attained educational level were less likely to report embarrassment and worrying. CONCLUSION:Nearly two third of the respondents with bothersome ED had not contacted their GP. More than half of those reported barriers towards GP contact with embarrassment as the most frequent barrier. In general, respondents in the older age groups and with high educational level were less likely to report barriers.

SUBMITTER: Rasmussen S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7429708 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Socioeconomic status and barriers for contacting the general practitioner when bothered by erectile dysfunction: a population-based cross-sectional study.

Rasmussen Sanne S Balasubramaniam Kirubakaran K Jarbøl Dorte Ejg DE Søndergaard Jens J Haastrup Peter Fentz PF

BMC family practice 20200816 1

<h4>Background</h4>Erectile dysfunction (ED) is common and impacts psychosocial wellbeing negatively. Many do not seek medical attention and several barriers for healthcare seeking with ED exist. Little is known about the association between socioeconomic characteristics of the patient and barriers for healthcare-seeking for men bothered by ED. The objectives of the study were 1) to estimate the proportion of men bothered by ED, who do not contact the GP, 2) to analyse the frequencies of selecte ...[more]

PMID: 32799804

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Project description:BackgroundUrinary incontinence (UI) is a frequently occurring condition among women and increases with age. Effective treatments exist but many women hesitate to contact their general practitioner (GP) regarding UI. Therefore, it is important to generate knowledge regarding barriers for healthcare-seeking. Several factors such as age, duration and number of symptoms are associated with healthcare-seeking. How socioeconomic status (SES) is associated with experiencing barriers for healthcare-seeking for UI has not been explored. The objectives of this study were to: (1) analyze frequencies of barriers for healthcare-seeking, and (2) investigate associations between SES and barriers for contacting the GP, among women reporting bothersome UI.MethodA cross-sectional web-based questionnaire study of symptoms occurrence among 51,090 randomly selected women. This study investigates reported symptoms of three types of UI (stress UI, urge UI and UI without stress or urge) and reported barriers for GP contact combined with register data on SES.ResultsA total of 4,051 (16.4%) women reported to be bothered by either stress UI (9.1%), urge UI (4.0%) or incontinence without stress or urge (2.4%) and 76.3%, 70%, and 64% respectively, had not contacted their GP regarding the symptom(s). The most frequently reported barriers were 'being too embarrassed' (19.3%) and 'being too busy' (18.4%) for stress incontinence, and 'being too embarrassed (19.0%) or 'worried about wasting the doctor's time' (16.9%) for women with bothersome urge UI or UI without stress or urge. Younger women had higher odds of reporting barriers and the barriers embarrassment and being worried about what the doctor might find were significantly associated with lower educational level.ConclusionWomen with lower educational level have an increased risk of not seeking healthcare for UI symptoms. The GP should be aware of identifying women bothered by UI for whom effective treatment options to alleviate the symptoms are available.

Project description:BackgroundErectile Dysfunction (ED) is a common sexual dysfunction in men who are unable to consistently obtain and maintain sufficient penile erection to accomplish a satisfactory sexual life. ED is currently considered to be a predictor of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but few studies have observed the association between ED and clinical features of coronary heart disease (CHD). An investigation of the association between ED and clinical characteristics of CHD was carried out using a cross-sectional study design.MethodsThis cross-sectional single-center study was conducted in the Department of Cardiology and included 248 patients. Associations between patients' general information, underlying disease information, coronary heart disease information, and ED severity were statistically and analytically analyzed using SPSS 26.0 software. Patients with comparable clinical characteristics were grouped together using K-means clustering. Finally, ordered logistic regression analysis was performed for general and underlying disease information.ResultsIn the comparison of general data, age, education, and weekly exercise were associated with the distribution of ED severity. In the comparison of underlying disease information, the number of underlying diseases, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, anxiety state, and depressive state were associated with the distribution of ED severity. In the comparison of CHD information, the degree of ED severity was associated with CHD subtypes, lesion sites, number of stenoses, degree of stenosis, and interventional interventions. The time from ED to CHD onset was associated with the subtypes of CHD and the number of stenoses. We clustered the main characteristics of low-risk and high-risk patients and ordered logistic regression analysis found that BMI, smoking, alcoholism, number of underlying diseases, diabetes, anxiety state, and depression state were all risk factors for CHD severity (P < 0.05); the higher the value of the above factors, the more severe the degree of CHD. Age was a protective factor for CHD severity; the younger the patient, the lower the likelihood of myocardial infarction.ConclusionED severity and the time from ED to CHD onset may be predictive of coronary heart disease severity. Reducing smoking and alcohol consumption, maintaining a healthy body weight, and regular physical activity are important in preventing CVD in ED patients.

Project description:Introduction:Sexual dysfunction is a common problem in patients with chronic kidney disease. Disturbances in sexual function are noticed in early stages of chronic kidney diseases and deteriorate further as renal function declines. This is due to uremic effects, comorbid illness, anemia, hormonal disturbances, autonomic neuropathy, vascular diseases, hyperparathyroidism, hyperprolactinemia, side effects of medications, and psychosocial factors. Patients and method:This is a cross-sectional study which included 59 male patients who underwent renal transplantation for more than 6 months. The International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF-5) was adopted in our study to record the erectile function. Results:The mean age was 49.41 years, and the mean number of hemodialysis per month was 5.31. The cause of the chronic kidney disease was diabetes mellitus in 35.59%, glomerulonephritis in 20.34%, and hypertension in 16.95%, other causes were diagnosed in order of decreasing frequency. Most patients developed improvement in the erectile function after transplantation. There was significant correlation with 3 of the elements of the IIFE-5.i.e; penile hardness pre-penetration, Maintaining erection during intercourse, and Difficulty to maintain erection to complete the intercourse (p values 0.015, 0.011, and 0.023) respectively, and the overall improvement after transplantation which showed a p-value of less than 0.031, while there was no significant correlation with Confidence with erection and Satisfaction with intercourse before and after transplantation (p values 0.113 and 0.121) respectively. One of the patients (1.7%) developed severe dysfunction after that. Conclusion:ED is common sequel of chronic kidney disease. The etiology is multifactorial and may be worsen by advanced age, presence of diabetes mellitus and prolonged duration of hemodialysis. Renal transplantation has a positive impact on sexual function and lead to improvement of erectile dysfunction. Erectile dysfunction that persists after kidney transplantation is usually attributed to multiple preexisting comorbidities.

Project description:BackgroundThe association between stress and morale among general practitioners (GP) is well documented. However, the impact of GP stress or low morale on patient care is less clear. GPs in the UK now routinely survey patients about the quality of their care including organizational issues and consultation skills and the General Practice Assessment Questionnaire (GPAQ) is widely used for this purpose. We aimed to see if there was a relationship between doctor morale as measured by a validated instrument, the Morale Assessment in General Practice Index (MAGPI) and scores in the GPAQ.MethodsAll GPs in Lothian, Scotland who were collecting GPAQ data were approached and asked to complete the MAGPI. Using an anonymised linkage system, individual scores on the MAGPI were linked to the doctors' GPAQ scores. Levels of association between the scores were determined by calculating rank correlations at the level of the individual doctor. Hypothesised associations between individual MAGPI and GPAQ items were also assessed.Results276 of 475 GPs who were approached agreed to complete a MAGPI questionnaire and successfully collected anonymous GPAQ data from an average of 49.6 patients. There was no significant correlation between the total MAGPI score and the GPAQ communication or enablement scale. There were weak correlations between "control of work" in the MAGPI scale and GPAQ items on waiting times to see doctors (r = 0.24 p < 0.01). Doctors who perceived that their patients viewed them negatively also scored lower on individual communication, accessibility and continuity of care GPAQ items.ConclusionThis study showed no relationship between overall GP morale and patient perception of performance. There was a weak relationship between patients' perceptions ofquality and doctors' beliefs about their workload and whether patients value them. Further research is required to elucidate the complex relationship between workload, morale and patients' perception of care.

Project description:ObjectivesThe acceleration in the number of female doctors has led to questions about differences in how men and women practice medicine. The aim of this study was to assess the influence of general practitioner (GP) gender on the use of the three main categories of diagnostic procedures-clinical examinations, laboratory tests and imaging investigations.DesignCross-sectional nationwide multicentre study.SettingFrench training general practices.ParticipantsThe patient sample included all the voluntary patients over a cumulative period of 5 days per office between November 2011 and April 2012. The GP sample included 85 males and 43 females.Methods54 interns in general practice, observing their GP supervisors, collected data about the characteristics of GPs and consultations, as well as the health problems managed during the visit and the processes of care associated with them. Using hierarchical multilevel mixed-effect logistic regression models, we performed multivariable analyses to assess differences in each of the three main categories of diagnostic procedures, and two specific multivariable analyses for each category, distinguishing screening from diagnostic or follow-up procedures. We searched for interactions between GP gender and patient gender or type of health problem managed.ResultsThis analysis of 45 582 health problems managed in 20 613 consultations showed that female GPs performed more clinical examinations than male GPs, both for screening (OR 1.75; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.58) and for diagnostic or follow-up purposes (OR 1.41; 95% CI 1.08 to 1.84). Female GPs also ordered laboratory tests for diagnostic or follow-up purposes more frequently (OR 1.21; 95% CI 1.03 to 1.43). Female GPs performed even more clinical examinations than male GPs to diagnose or follow-up injuries (OR 1.69; 95% CI 1.19 to 2.40).ConclusionFurther research on the appropriateness of diagnostic procedures is required to determine to what extent these differences are related to underuse or overuse.

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Socioeconomic status and barriers for contacting the general practitioner when bothered by erectile dysfunction: a population-based cross-sectional study.

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Socioeconomic status and barriers for contacting the general practitioner when bothered by erectile dysfunction: a population-based cross-sectional study.

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