Which is more important for outcome: the physician's or the patient's understanding of a health problem? A 2-year follow-up study in primary care

General Hospital Psychiatry
Lisbeth FrostholmPer Fink

Abstract

We sought to examine (1) whether the patients' and the family physicians' (FPs') beliefs about the nature of a health problem predict health outcomes and (2) whether the FPs were aware of their patients' beliefs. A 2-year follow-up study of 38 FPs and 1131 patients presenting with well-defined physical disease (n=922) or medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) (n=209) according to the FPs was conducted. Before the consultation, patients categorized their health problem as being either physical or both physical and psychological. After the consultation, the FPs judged their patients' understanding of the health problem. Outcome measures were (1) patient satisfaction (seven-item Patient Satisfaction Consultation Questionnaire), (2) self-perceived mental and physical health (component summaries of the Medical Outcome Study's Short Form: SF-36) and (3) health care use extracted from patient registers. Patients with MUS according to the FPs and patients who believed that the nature of their health problem was both physical and psychological had higher health care use and worse self-rated health than patients in cases where both the FP and the patient had a physical understanding. Patients presenting MUS were more dissatisfied with the ...Continue Reading

References

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Feb 3, 2007·Journal of Psychosomatic Research·Lisbeth FrostholmPer Fink
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Citations

Dec 22, 2011·International Journal of Behavioral Medicine·Sarah SchumacherRicarda Mewes
Nov 28, 2013·Nordic Journal of Psychiatry·Morten FengerMarianne Lau
Jul 23, 2013·Journal of Anxiety Disorders·T EilenbergL Frostholm
Feb 14, 2015·General Hospital Psychiatry·Lisbeth FrostholmPer K Fink
Feb 12, 2014·British Journal of Community Nursing·Kevin J Gormley
May 8, 2019·Pilot and Feasibility Studies·Majbritt Mostrup PedersenLisbeth Frostholm

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