Scandinavian journal of primary health care
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2008
Characteristics of non-urgent patients. Cross-sectional study of emergency department and primary care patients.
To describe characteristics of patients seeking medical attention for non-urgent conditions at an emergency department (ED) and patients who use non-scheduled services in primary healthcare. ⋯ Symptoms, previous hospitalization and current perception of symptoms seemed to be the main factors discriminating between patients studied at the different sites. There were no substantial sociodemographic differences between the primary care centre patients and the ED patients.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2008
Comparative StudyHealthcare provider back pain beliefs unaffected by a media campaign.
Healthcare providers play a key role in transmitting knowledge and beliefs about LBP to their patients. There are differences in back pain beliefs between the various professionals groups treating LBP patients. This study examined whether LBP beliefs changed among the healthcare providers exposed to a media campaign. ⋯ An LBP mass media campaign with educational initiatives aimed at healthcare providers did not result in important improvement in LBP beliefs of providers exposed to the campaign. Important differences were observed between beliefs of the different healthcare provider groups in their view of LBP.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2008
Comparative StudyNon-participation in preventive child health examinations at the general practitioner in Denmark: a register-based study.
To examine demographic and socioeconomic characteristics of parents and children in families not participating in preventive child health examinations at the general practitioner in a society with free and easy access to healthcare. ⋯ Despite the fact that Denmark has free and easy access to the GP, the utilization of preventive child health examinations is lower among the more deprived part of the population.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2008
Comparative StudyA benzodiazepine discontinuation programme does not increase the frequency of contacts with the family practice.
The efficacy of programmes to reduce long-term benzodiazepine use could be compromised by subsequent increases in contacts with the family practice. In this study the hypothesis was tested as to whether participation in a benzodiazepine discontinuation programme affects the frequency of contacts with the family practice. ⋯ No clinically important differences in practice contacts were observed when the course of the number of contacts and non-benzodiazepine prescriptions were compared between the experimental and control groups. Family practitioners do not have to anticipate an increased workload associated with participation in such a benzodiazepine discontinuation programme.
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Scand J Prim Health Care · Jan 2008
Problems in sickness certification of patients: a qualitative study on views of 26 physicians in Sweden.
To identify what problems physicians experience in sickness certification of patients. ⋯ The problems identified have negative consequences both for patients and for the well-being of physicians. Many of the problems seem related to inadequate leadership and management of sickness certification issues. Therefore, they cannot be handled merely by training of physicians, which has so far been the main intervention in this area. They also have to be addressed on manager levels within healthcare. Further research is needed on how physicians cope with the problems identified and on managers' strategies and responsibilities in relation to these problems. If the complexity of the problems is not recognized, there is a risk that inadequate actions will be taken to solve them.