Attitudes, norms and controls influencing lifestyle risk factor management in general practice

Abstract

Background: With increasing rates of chronic disease associated with lifestyle behavioural risk factors, there is urgent need for intervention strategies in primary health care. Currently there is a gap in the knowledge of factors that influence the delivery of preventive strategies by General Practitioners (GPs) around interventions for smoking, nutrition, alcohol consumption and physical activity (SNAP). This qualitative study explores the delivery of lifestyle behavioural risk factor screening and management by GPs within a 45-49 year old health check consultation. The aims of this research are to identify the influences affecting GPs' choosing to screen and choosing to manage SNAP lifestyle risk factors, as well as identify influences on screening and management when multiple SNAP factors exist.

The TOBg Tobacco Treatment Guidelines for Adolescents: A real-world pilot study

“…The 3-session group-based intervention tested in schools was associated with a reduction in cigarettes smoked per day among adolescent participants, although no significant effect on smoking abstinence was observed. These findings are consistent with those reported in other studies, which have shown that school-based interventions, if well designed, can be effective in reducing short-term abstinence and reducing daily cigarette consumption; however the effectiveness on long-term smoking abstinence remains unclear 7,8,15 . While the primary study outcome was complete abstinence from smoking, it should be noted that reducing tobacco consumption may increase the chance of quitting in the future.…”

“…Practitioners' perception of self-efficacy in delivering smoking cessation interventions was assessed using a 6-item questionnaire allowing responses on a 10-point rating scale; with 1 -indicating lack of confidence and 10 -extreme confidence. This has been adapted from previously published instruments [13][14][15][16] . Study 2 examined the effectiveness of a pilot smoking cessation intervention that drew on the TOBg Guidelines and was delivered in a sample of highschools in Greece.…”

Prevention of cardiovascular disease in rural Australian primary care: an exploratory study of the perspectives of clinicians and high-risk men

“…The views expressed by clinicians that CVD prevention is compromised by illness-based funding models, time pressures and a health workforce not well prepared for CVD preventive activities, are consistent with other exploratory studies in Australian primary care (Harris et al 2005;Ampt et al 2009;Passey et al 2010). Chronic disease management is incentivised in Australian primary care but this principle does not extend to CVD preventive activities, even though incentives have been shown to influence provider behaviour ).…”

The interface between primary health care and population health: challenges and opportunities for prevention

“…A variety of barriers to implementation exist at the patient, practitioner, service and system levels. 5 For example, GPs may have insufficient time with each patient to offer planned, effective preventive care. Barriers to referral for additional assistance include availability, appropriateness to the individual and cost to the patient, as well as lack of feedback to the GP.…”