The European journal of general practice
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Cancer screening participation rates in Germany differ depending on patients' gender. International studies have found that patient-physician gender concordance fosters recommendation and conducting of cancer screening, and especially cancer screening for women. ⋯ Patient-physician gender concordance made it more likely that male-specific cancer screenings would be recommended and conducted, but not female-specific screenings. [Box: see text].
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Whether lifestyle is associated with well-being in patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is largely unknown. Uncovering and clarifying associations between these constructs may lead to new strategies for improving both. ⋯ This study shows a negative, non-clinically relevant association between smoking and emotional well-being in the total population with T2D and a positive, non-clinically relevant association between physical activity and emotional well-being in both men and women with T2D.
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Intimate partner violence (IPV) is highly prevalent and associated with physical and mental health problems. Mentor mother support is a low threshold intervention in family practice consisting of support by non-professionals trained to support mothers experiencing IPV. A mentor mother support study showed reduced exposure to IPV and decreased symptoms of depression. ⋯ To improve successful implementation of mentor mother support in primary care, we should focus on family physicians' attitudes towards IPV. To change these attitudes, we recommend continuous training of family physicians. By being paraprofessional friends, mentor mothers offer low threshold support that is complementary to professional support and should be embedded more widely in primary care. [Box: see text].
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There is no consensus among health professionals on how to structure medical records to serve clinical decision-making. Three approaches co-exist (source-oriented, problem-oriented, goal-oriented), each suiting a different subset of patients. In primary care, the problem-oriented approach is dominant, but for patients with multiple conditions (multimorbidity) the goal-oriented approach seems more appropriate. ⋯ Each approach has its specific merits that should be preserved even when health definitions change. Hence, we combine the merits of each approach into one overarching model, as to show the way to a new generation of electronic medical-record systems that can serve all patients. This model has three levels: a level of problems, diseases, and patient goals, a level of (shared) objectives, and a level of action plans and results.
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Heart failure (HF) diagnosis as reported in primary care medical records is not always properly confirmed and could result in over-registration. ⋯ Only in half of the patients labelled as HF in primary care medical records could this diagnosis be further confirmed. Variables regularly registered in clinical practice could help general practitioners identify those patients requiring a revision of their HF diagnosis.