Patient experiences of self-care may collide with what general practitioners find appropriate in a medical regimen. Health professionals should be aware of patients' prominent and shifting considerations about the emotional aspects of disease. Patients valued the general practitioner's role in self-care support, primarily through the long-term doctor-patient relationship. Therefore, relational continuity should be prioritized in chronic care, especially for patients with impaired self-care ability who often have a highly complex disease burden and situational context. Key points Little is known about the perspectives of disease and self-care in patients with a doctor-assessed impaired ability of self-care. • Although patients knew the prescribed regimen they often prioritized self-care routines that increased well-being at the cost of medical recommendations. • Shifting emotional aspects were prominent in patients' considerations of disease and sustained GPs' use of a patient-centred clinical method when discussing self-care. • Relational continuity with general practitioners was a highly valued support and should be prioritized for patients with impaired self-care.
BackgroundTo target optimised medical care the Danish guidelines for diabetes recommend stratification of patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D) into three levels according to risk and complexity of treatment. The aim was to describe the T2D population in an outpatient clinic, measure the compliance of the endocrinologists’ to perform risk stratification, and investigate the level of concordance between stratification performed by the endocrinologists and objective assessments.MethodsA cross-sectional study with data collected from medical records and laboratory databases. The Danish risk stratification model contained the following criteria: HbA1c, blood pressure, metabolic complications, microvascular and macrovascular complications. Stratification levels encompassed: level 1 (uncomplicated), level 2 (intermediate risk) and level 3 (high risk). Objective assessments were conducted independently by two health professionals, and compared with the endocrinologists’ assessments. In order to test the degree of concordance, we conducted Cohen's kappa, McNemar’s test for marginal homogeneity, and Bowker’s test for symmetry.ResultsOf 245 newly referred patients, 209 (85 %) were stratified by the endocrinologists to level 1 (16 %), level 2 (55 %) and level 3 (29 %). By objective assessments, 4 % were stratified to level 1, 51 % to level 2 and 45 % to level 3. Of 419 long-term follow-up patients, 380 (91 %) were stratified by the endocrinologists to level 1 (5 %), level 2 (57 %), level 3 (38 %). By objective assessments, 3 % were stratified to level 1, 58 % to level 2 and 39 % to level 3. The concordance rate between endocrinologists’ and objective assessments was 63 % among newly referred (kappa 0.39; fair agreement) and 67 % for long-term follow-up (kappa 0.45; moderate agreement). Among newly referred patients, the endocrinologists stratified less patients at level 3 compared to objective assessments (p < 0.0001). There were no significant differences in marginal distribution within long-term follow-up patients.ConclusionType 2 diabetes patients, newly referred to or allocated for long-term follow-up in the out-patient clinic, were mainly intermediate and high-risk, complicated patients (96 % and 95 %, respectively). Compliance of stratification by endocrinologists was high. The concordance between endocrinologists’ and objective assessments was not strong. Our data suggest that clinician-support for stratification level categorisation might be needed.
The aim of this study is to search systematically for Patient Reported Outcome Measures (PROMs) used among patients with multimorbidity. Furthermore, the aim is to evaluate the adequacy and validity of the PROMs identified. Design and setting: This systematic review follows the PRISMA guidelines. To assess the adequacy and validity of the identified PROMs the COSMIN Risk of Bias Checklist is used, more specifically a validation of the development, content validity, structural validity, and internal consistency of the PROMs. Results: Four PROMs were identified in the primary search, and one was found from references. The sixth PROM was published after the primary search. None of the identified PROMs were aimed specifically at measuring the quality of life in patients with multimorbidity. According to the checklist, the development process and content validity were rated "adequate" in only one measure and "invalid"/"doubtful"/"inadequate" in the rest of the measures. The structural validity of the measures was rated "adequate" in four measures and "very good" in one. Regarding the internal consistency, two measures were rated doubtful and three "very good". None of the six PROMs reported analyses about invariant measurement. The COSMIN Risk of Bias Checklist proved easy to use; however, there are some concerns in the rating of bias, that are discussed further. Conclusion: All six PROMs developed for patients with multimorbidity identified possessed inadequacy in their measurement properties. Therefore, the aim for the future is to develop a valid and adequate measure of the quality of life among patients with multimorbidity.
Background General practitioners (GPs) are responsible for managing chronic care in the growing population of patients with comorbid chronic conditions and cancer. Studies have shown, however, that cancer patients are less likely to receive appropriate chronic care compared to patients without cancer. Patients say that how GPs engage in the care of comorbidities influences their own priority of these conditions. No studies have explored GPs’ attitudes to and prioritization of chronic care in patients who have completed primary cancer treatment. This study aims to explore GPs’ experiences, prioritization of, and perspectives on treatment and follow-up of patients with cancer and comorbidity. Methods Semi-structured interviews were conducted during 2016 with 13 GPs in Region Zealand in Denmark. We used Systematic Text Condensation in the analysis. Results All participating GPs said that chronic care in patients with a history of cancer was a high priority, and due to a clear structure in their practice, they experienced that few patients were lost to follow-up. Two different approaches to chronic care consultations were identified: one group of GPs described them as imitating outpatient clinics, where the GP sets the agenda and focuses on the chronic condition. The other group described an approach that was more attuned to the patient’s agenda, which could mean that chronic care consultations served as an “alibi” for the patients to disclose other matters of concern. Both groups of GPs said that chronic care consultations for these patients supported normalcy , but in different ways. Some GPs said that offering future appointments in the chronic care process gave patients hope and a sense of normalcy. Other GPs strove for normalcy by focusing exclusively on the chronic condition and dealing with cancer as cured. Conclusions The participating GPs gave a high priority to chronic care in patients with a history of cancer. Some GPs, however, followed a rigorous agenda. GPs should be aware that a very focused and biomedical approach to chronic care might increase fragmentation of care and collide with a holistic and patient-centered approach. It could also affect GPs’ self-perception of their role and the core values of general practice.
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