Community members’ view of general practice and preventive health care

January 01, 0001

Community members’ view of general practice and preventive health care

The aim of this study was to identify barriers to, and enablers of, the uptake of preventive care in general practice from the perspective of community members, and to explore their sense of the effectiveness of that care. It consisted of a qualitative study involving 18 focus groups comprising 85 community members aged over 25 years, from two areas of metropolitan Melbourne that were identified as being of high and low socioeconomic status (SES). The study was performed between 25 May and 9 December 2010. Groups were stratified by age, sex and location (high or low SES).

Participants saw preventive care as legitimate in general practice when it was associated with concrete action or a test, but rated their general practitioners as poor at delivering prevention. Trust, rapport and continuity of care were viewed as enablers for participants to engage in prevention with their GP. Barriers to participants seeking preventive care through their GPs included lack of knowledge about what preventive care was relevant to them, consultations focused exclusively on acute- care concerns, time pressures and the cost of consultations.

The researchers concluded: "A disconnect exists between patient perceptions of prevention in general practice and government expectations of this sector at a time when general practice is being asked to increase its focus and effectiveness in this field."

When pro-active and re-active approaches to medicine co-exist in a fee-for-service system, costs will probably increase for a long time before any possible savings.

For the full abstract, click here.

MJA 195 (4):180-183, 15 August 2011 © 2011 to The Medical Journal of Australia
General practice and preventive health care: a view through the eyes of community members. Danielle Mazza, Lyndel K Shand, Narelle Warren, Helen Keleher, Colette J Browning and Emma J Bruce.

Category: HSR. Health Services Research. Keywords: general practice, preventive health care, community, qualitative study, journal watch.
Synopsis edited by Dr Stephen Wilkinson, Melbourne, Australia. Posted on Global Family Doctor 23 September 2011

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