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General practitioners' challenges and strategies in dealing with Internet-related health anxieties-results of a qualitative study among primary care physicians in Germany.

ABSTRACT: Time and again, it is discussed that in medical practices, the number of patients who develop health anxieties due to extensive health information searches on the Internet is increasing. The objective of this study is to explore and describe general practitioners' experiences and attitudes towards cyberchondria patients as well as strategies to stabilize affected patients. Following a qualitative approach, oral personal semi-standardized interviews with general practitioners (N?=?38) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, were conducted in 2019. In the course of a content analysis, one can see that most interviewees see the emergence of Internet-related health anxieties as an increasing problem in everyday care. Affected patients not only show marked levels of doubt and nervousness as well as hypersensitivity to their own state of health, but also low confidence in the physician. In addition to compliance-related difficulties, the high need for advice and the demand for further diagnostics are regarded as major problems. Various approaches were identified by which general practitioners respond to unsettled patients (more consultation time, recommendation of reputable websites, information double-checking, expanded history questionnaire, additional psychosocial training).

SUBMITTER: Wangler J

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7518985 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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General practitioners' challenges and strategies in dealing with Internet-related health anxieties-results of a qualitative study among primary care physicians in Germany.

Wangler Julian J Jansky Michael M

Wiener medizinische Wochenschrift (1946) 20200807 13-14

Time and again, it is discussed that in medical practices, the number of patients who develop health anxieties due to extensive health information searches on the Internet is increasing. The objective of this study is to explore and describe general practitioners' experiences and attitudes towards cyberchondria patients as well as strategies to stabilize affected patients. Following a qualitative approach, oral personal semi-standardized interviews with general practitioners (N = 38) in Rhinelan ...[more]

PMID: 32767159

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Project description:BackgroundChina is rapidly expanding its general practitioner (GP) workforce as part of recent healthcare reform, with an extra 400,000 GPs by 2030. This scoping review identifies the published strategies for GP recruitment that are being implemented and the challenges encountered.MethodsWe searched six English and three Chinese databases from 2015 to April 2022, following Arksey and O'Malley's framework and the PRISMA ScR reporting guidelines.ResultsA total of 40 Chinese-language and 5 English-language records were included. We identified multiple policies, pathways and programmes focused on expanding GP recruitment. Twenty-two evaluations of these initiatives show varying degrees of effectiveness. Selecting general practice as a career is affected by many factors, including individual's background, remuneration and benefits, career prospects, working environment, self-fulfilment, and current national developments and reorganisations of primary care. The challenge most frequently reported was the adequate provision of qualified GP in rural regions. The targeting of students from rural areas and provision of free education in return for an obligatory six-years' working in their hometown upon graduation appears to be effective. Extracted records mostly studied views of trainees in a defined locality, and we identified a paucity of studies which explored the perspectives of organisations and institutions, similarly there were areas of China not contributing to the literature and there were no records taking a national perspective.ConclusionsLong-term monitoring is required to assess policy changes and to systematically evaluate the effectiveness of the interventions nationally. The monitoring of the challenges influencing GP recruitment can be used to inform the design of future initiatives. Development of a minimum agreed standardised set of outcomes used to measure and report evaluations will help assess the relative contributions and cost effectiveness of different approaches being used to boost GP numbers. We provide suggestions for improving the benefits and rewards for GPs and how to promote recruitment to the more rural or less attractive areas.

Project description:BACKGROUND:An increasing prevalence of having survived a myocardial infarction increases the importance of medical secondary prevention. Although preventive medication reduces mortality, prescribing and adherence are known to be frequently insufficient. General practitioners are the most important prescriber. However, their perspective on prescribing and medical non-adherence following myocardial infarction has not yet been explored. Thus, the aim of this study was to explore the general practitioners' perspective on long-term care after myocardial infarction focussing on medical prevention. METHODS:In this qualitative interview study we conducted episodic interviews with sixteen general practitioners from rural and urban surgeries in Germany. Framework analysis with focus on general practitioners' prescribing and patients' non-adherence was performed. RESULTS:Almost all general practitioners reported following guidelines for myocardial infarction aftercare and prescribing the medication that was initiated in the hospital; however, they described deviating from guidelines because of drugs' side effects or patients' intolerances. Some questioned the benefits of medical secondary prevention for the oldest of patients. General practitioners perceived good adherence among their patients who had had an MI while they regarded their methods for assessing medical non-adherence as limited. They perceived diverse reasons for non-adherence, particularly side effects, patients' freedom from symptoms and patients' indifference to health. They attributed mainly negative characteristics, like lack of knowledge and understanding, to non-adherent patients. These characteristics contribute to the difficulty of convincing these patients to take medications as prescribed. General practitioners improved adherence by preventing side effects, explaining the medication's necessity, facilitating intake and involving patients in decision-making. However, about half of the general practitioners reported threatening their patients with negative consequences of non-adherence. CONCLUSIONS:General practitioners should be aware that discharge medication can be insufficient and thus, should always check hospital recommendations for accordance with guideline recommendations. Improving physicians' communication skills and informing and motivating patients in an adequate manner, for example in simple language, should be an important goal in the hospital and the general practitioner setting. General practitioners should assess patients' motivations through motivational interviewing, which no general practitioner mentioned during the interviews, and talk with them about adherence and long-term treatment goals regularly.

Project description:Background General practitioners are considered to be well suited when it comes to addressing the information and care needs of family caregivers. The aim of the present study is to examine how general practitioners assess their possibilities to support caregivers, what priorities they set and to what extent they experience challenges.Methods and participants In the course of an online survey with a postal cover letter, a total of 3,556 GPs in in Baden-Württemberg, Hesse and Rhineland-Palatinate were interviewed between February and June 2021. Due to the exploratory approach of the study, only a descriptive data analysis was carried out.Results 68 % of the GPs surveyed often deal with family caregivers in everyday practice; 77 % consider the GP's office to be well suited as the primary point of contact for family caregivers and care coordination. Often it is caregiving relatives who ask the GP about the issue of care (89 %). Frequent contents concern a deterioration in the care situation (75 %) and a change in the need for care (84 %); consultations in the initial phase of care are less common (40 %). There are differences between urban and rural doctors in the perception of the needs of caregivers and the setting of priorities. Rural doctors give more weight to proactive and psychosocial care, whereas doctors in urban regions rely on the specialist and support network. GPs experience various challenges while supporting caregivers, including the timely organization of suitable relief offers (87 %), the referral to suitable offers of help (79 %) or the early identification of informal caregivers (59 %).Discussion GPs can play a central role in supporting family caregivers. A crucial prerequisite for this is that family caregivers are recognized and involved at an early stage. Consistent references to offers of help make it easier for family caregivers to organize care and to receive (psychosocial) support. In addition, it is important that GPs take into account the needs, desires and stresses of both caregivers and those being cared for.

Dataset Information

General practitioners' challenges and strategies in dealing with Internet-related health anxieties-results of a qualitative study among primary care physicians in Germany.

Publications

General practitioners' challenges and strategies in dealing with Internet-related health anxieties-results of a qualitative study among primary care physicians in Germany.

Similar Datasets

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