Family practice
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Spiritual needs gain importance in old age but are often ignored in health care. Within the 'Holistic care program for elderly patients to integrate spiritual needs, social activity and self-care into disease management in primary care (HoPES3)' a complex intervention was evaluated in a cluster-randomized trial. The aim of this study was to explore the acceptability, feasibility, benefits, and harms of a spiritual history taken by general practitioners (GPs) as part of the complex intervention. ⋯ A spiritual history in general practice has the potential to reveal important information about patients' lives and to improve the patient-physician relationship. Implementation barriers identified in this study have to be considered and addressed.
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Hypertension (HT) is highly prevalent and a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Over 42% of Portuguese adults have HT. Even though the benefits of antihypertensive (AHT) drugs have been demonstrated, HT control remains inadequate. One major reason is that patients often fail to take their medications as prescribed. This paper aims to determine primary adherence to AHT therapy in newly diagnosed and treated hypertensive patients in Primary Health Care (PHC) units of Lisbon and Tagus Valley Health Region. ⋯ Overall, almost 1 out of 2 prescribed AHT drugs were not dispensed. Until this study, little was known in Portugal about primary adherence. Our findings imply that the potential benefits of AHT therapy cannot be fully realized in this population.
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Abdominal obesities are better markers for predicting cardiovascular abnormalities than risk stratification based only on body mass index (BMI). We aimed to estimate the prevalence of abdominal adiposities using predictive equations for Asian Indian adults and to determine the prevalence of metabolically healthy subjects among those overweight/obese and with normal BMI. ⋯ We highlight the substantially high prevalence of IAAT, TAF, and SCAT in the district of Puducherry. Almost all the study population was metabolically unhealthy irrespective of their BMI levels.
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The aim of this study is to determine the prevalence of functional constipation (FC) in İzmir using ROME IV criteria, as well as to investigate the relationship of FC with various factors, particularly obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and personality traits. ⋯ FC is a common gastrointestinal system complaint in primary care and emphasizes the importance of the diagnostic approach, particularly in patients presenting with constipation due to treatment differences. Individuals with FC diagnoses had a significantly higher incidence of OCD, and their emotional stability levels were significantly lower. It should be noted that psychiatric diseases and personality traits may also play a role in this situation in individuals diagnosed with FC.
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Multimorbidity is prevalent in general practice and general practitioners internationally report challenges in its management. Understanding the perspectives of general practitioners at the frontline of care is important for system sustainability and accessibility as populations age. ⋯ Australian general practitioners share many multimorbidity concerns with international colleagues. While multimorbidity-specific evidence may be unrealistic to expect in the immediate term, system investment and adaptation is needed to support general practice sustainability and clinician ability to provide adequate multimorbidity care, suitably remunerated, into the future.