The European journal of general practice
-
Burnout is a growing problem among healthcare professionals and may be mitigated and even prevented by measures designed to promote empathy and resilience. ⋯ Although burnout was relatively uncommon in our sample, it was associated with low levels of empathy. This finding and our observation of lower empathy levels in rural settings require further investigation. [Box: see text].
-
General practice recognizes the existential dimension as an integral part of multidimensional patient care alongside the physical, psychological and social dimensions. However, general practitioners (GPs) report substantial barriers related to communication with patients about existential concerns. ⋯ This study resulted in a question tool that can serve as inspiration and help GPs when communicating with cancer patients about existential problems and resources. This tool may qualify GPs' assessment of existential distress, increase the patient's existential well-being and help deepen the GP-patient relationship.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Impact of practice, provider and patient characteristics on delivering screening and brief advice for heavy drinking in primary healthcare: Secondary analyses of data from the ODHIN five-country cluster randomized factorial trial.
The implementation of primary healthcare-based screening and advice that is effective in reducing heavy drinking can be enhanced with training. ⋯ Training primary healthcare providers diminishes the negative impacts that some practice, provider and patient characteristics have on the likelihood of patients being screened and advised. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov. Trial identifier: NCT01501552.
-
Individuals with atrial fibrillation (AF) face a fivefold increased risk of ischaemic stroke compared with those without the condition. Recent studies suggest that individuals with asymptomatic AF also face an increased risk of ischaemic stroke, but their condition is often not recognized and diagnosed until an ischaemic stroke event has occurred. Identification of individuals with undiagnosed AF at increased risk for stroke is critical in promoting optimal intervention with anticoagulants. ⋯ It was determined that improved detection and diagnosis of AF, combined with appropriate anticoagulation strategies, will be crucial for improving stroke prevention and reducing its associated social and economic costs.
-
Overdiagnosis is a growing problem worldwide. Overdiagnosis is the diagnosis of deviations, abnormalities, risk factors, and pathologies that in themselves would never cause symptoms (this applies only to risk factors and pathology), would never lead to morbidity, and would never be the cause of death. Overdiagnosis is often misinterpreted as overutilization or overtreatment. ⋯ In longitudinal surveys, the degree and length of psychosocial consequences associated with overdiagnosis can be estimated. In high-quality RCTs, the magnitude of overdiagnosis can be quantified, and in cohort studies, we can find indications of overdiagnosis. Finally, we can conduct research about the consequences of overdiagnosis in at least eight different areas: financial strain, hassles/inconveniences, medical costs, opportunity costs, physical harms, psychological harms, societal costs and work-related costs.