Perceptions of an older patient on the role of the family doctor in health promotion: a qualitative case study

Abstract

IntroductionHealth promotion and disease prevention are important aspects of primary health care. However, limited data are available concerning the opinions of older patients towards the respective services offered by family doctors. The aim of the present study was to evaluate an older patient's perception of the role of the family doctor in promoting his health, and identify those components that are difficult to examine in quantitative research.MethodsA qualitative case study of an 80-year-old man using an in-depth interview was carried out. The interview transcript was analyzed thematically. Our patient was an 80-year-old university-educated man, with stable social and financial circumstances, living with his wife. He had retired early on grounds of ill health (tuberculosis) and had received a disability pension prior to formal retirement. At the time of the interview, his medical problems included mild prostatic hypertrophy, scoliosis and hypertension. He considered his health status to be satisfactory. He had changed family doctor five years prior to the interview, as he had been dissatisfied with the care provided.ResultsWe found that our patient expected the family doctor to be aware of, and to discuss, the following issues: physical activity, diet, management of stress and mental health, use of alcohol and tobacco, personal hygiene, health screening, use of medication, and social activity. At the same time, our patient perceived the doctor's role as supplementary to his own in terms of the appraisal and maintenance of his health.ConclusionsOur findings provide evidence of what is important in the promotion of health among older people.

Predictors of Counselling Related to a Healthy Lifestyle Carried Out by a General Practitioner

“…Physicians should not only focus on clinical treatment of the existing disease, but also should take appropriate steps to motivate patients to change their health behaviors. These include recognition of the health needs of their patients through active discussion, offering lifestyle counselling, pointing to positive health behaviors, and providing a patient with support and monitoring of the changes [15]. Repetitive and intensive advice from GPs can influence patients’ decisions on lifestyle modification including quitting smoking, increasing the level of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA), and translating healthier dietary patterns [15,16,17,18].…”

Health Promotion for Older People Performed in Health Sector

“…In project countries PC was often a subject of analyses in respect to HP [3,[42][43][44]. It is often underlined that HS are still focused mainly on treatment or diagnosis processes [45]. The need to support necessary change in PC is also widely recognized [46].…”

Nutritional Knowledge, Confidence, Attitudes towards Nutritional Care and Nutrition Counselling Practice among General Practitioners

“…Patients expect to get nutritional advice from GPs [ 13 ] as they consider GPs as the most adequate, reliable and approachable sources of nutritional information [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Therefore, GPs have an opportunity to positively influence patients’ behaviour and lifestyle habits [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ]. Since their advice is held in high regard, GPs counselling activities have the potential to abate the incidence of preventable chronic diseases [ 21 , 22 ] and require good GP–patient communication and support in order to apply the recommendations rather than just being told (not) to do something, because the latter can provoke patients’ resistance [ 23 ].…”