Family practice
-
Underdiagnosis and undertreatment of chronic heart failure (CHF) are common in older patients, who are usually treated by general practitioners (GPs). In 2007, the French ICAGE study explored GPs' attitudes to the management of this condition in older patients. ⋯ Our results evidenced a small recent improvement in the management of older patients with CHF. Appropriate guidelines and training for GPs, patient education and multidisciplinary collaboration might further improve the care given to this population.
-
No study has investigated factors associated with non-participation or partial participation in the different combination patterns of screening programmes for all three cancers, that is, breast, colorectal and cervical cancer. ⋯ Our findings suggest that the health authorities should focus on improving cancer screenings in general rather than screenings for specific types of cancer, especially among younger women and those living in the most socially deprived areas.
-
In the UK, there is increased pressure on general practitioners' time due to an increase in (elderly) population and a shortage of general practitioners. This means that time has to be used efficiently, whilst optimizing adherence to consistent, appropriate and timely provision of care. ⋯ Inefficiencies in the management of patients in family practice can be identified with the 7S audit tool, thereby producing evidence for staff education and service reconfiguration.
-
The hereditary cancer syndromes represent overall <10% of all cancers. These syndromes are not irrelevant for public health because all the cancers typical of these syndromes affected young people and many members of the same family and the cancers are more aggressive than the sporadic ones and need specific surgery and medical therapy. We developed a new family assessment tool: STELO designed for family physicians to identify patients could benefit from Cancer Genetic Counselling. ⋯ STELO has demonstrated to have a good sensitivity. The specificity was expectedly low given that STELO has been developed for general medicine, so it needs to be simple, practical, of rapid consultation and effectively used in clinical practice.
-
Physical activity (PA) remains under prescribed by physicians. Motivation and confidence are clear drivers of frequency of promoting PA. Research shows demographic differences in physicians' preventive practices, yet none have included medical students who form habits during training. ⋯ Given that motivation and confidence have a positive influence on frequency-promoting PA, these results suggest where future efforts should focus, to improve PA promotion in medical practice. Physical inactivity continues to be a major issue worldwide, and medical students as future physicians have a unique opportunity to enhance PA amongst the population.