Family practice
-
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.
-
Mental health needs of transgender individuals can be complex with individual, social, and medical factors impacting symptoms. This study examines predictors of mood or anxiety problems among transgender individuals seeking hormone therapy (HT). ⋯ Gender-affirming care and addressing comorbidities can be important aspects of mental health needs for transgender individuals.
-
To analyse whether patient-general practitioner (GP) interaction, measured by their disagreement, varies among overweight or obese patients compared with normal-weight patients. ⋯ These disagreements could degrade the quality of patient-physician relationship. Our study provides an opportunity for GPs to reflect on how they communicate with overweight and obese patients, particularly with regard to lifestyle and weight-related advice and interventions taking into account the patient's representations.
-
Concerns have been raised that angiotensin-converting enzyme-inhibitors (ACE-I) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARBs) might facilitate transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 leading to more severe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) disease and an increased risk of mortality. We aimed to investigate the association between ACE-I/ARB treatment and risk of death amongst people with COVID-19 in the first 6 months of the pandemic. ⋯ Use of ACE-I/ARB, which are commonly used drugs, did not alter the odds of all-cause mortality amongst people diagnosed with COVID-19. Our findings should inform patient and prescriber decisions concerning continued use of these medications during the pandemic.
-
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.