Family practice
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To examine the validity and reliability of the Mandarin version of the Treatment Burden Questionnaire (TBQ) among stroke patients. ⋯ The Mandarin TBQ had acceptable validity and reliability. The use of TBQ in the assessment of treatment burden of stroke survivor may benefit health resources allocation and provide tailor therapeutic interventions to construct minimally disruptive care.
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Complex patients present an increasing challenge to the health care system and family physicians play an important role in their care. As part of a larger project exploring family physicians' perceptions of complex patients, we sought to understand how complex patients affect family physicians and if these effects might be related to physician burnout. ⋯ Although preliminary, this study offers a previously unconsidered understanding of drivers of physician burnout, including high cognitive load and negative emotional impact on family physicians created by caring for complex patients. Interventions to improve health care, including addressing physician wellness and burnout, should include the provision of resources to assist them with decreasing cognitive load and negative emotional impact when caring for complex patients.
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Pre-existing conditions interfere with cancer diagnosis by offering diagnostic alternatives, competing for clinical attention or through patient surveillance. ⋯ In men, multimorbidity is associated with a reduced chance of advanced-stage oesophagogastric cancer, to levels seen collectively for women.
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Approximately half of the opioids prescribed by Australian GP and GP registrars are for chronic non-cancer pain-despite limited therapeutic benefit, and serious risks of harm. Understanding the factors driving non-evidence-based opioid prescribing may improve GP training and education. ⋯ Non-evidence-based opioid prescribing by Australian GP registrars is multifactorial. Emotionally difficult pain consultations, poor supervision and low prescriber confidence may contribute to unsafe prescribing. Improving registrar prescribing may require interventions to improve risk reduction, training in communication and role modelling by supervisors.