Perceptions Of Primary Care Physicians Research Articles

Nutrition guidance by primary care physicians: models and circumstances.

The perception of primary care physicians of the ability to influence the lifestyle and eating habits of patients is an important factor in nutrition guidance practices. This perception is based on assumptions about the kind of influencing process that is effective or not and on the capacity of primary care physicians to play an effective role in these processes. The first elements is dealt with in this article. Three models are distinguished. The first model is the prescription model, based on a medical optimum and on information transfer as a metaphor. The second model is the persuasion model, based on a medical optimum, but presupposing blockades that have to be cornered by persuasive communication. The third is the interaction model. It is not based upon a medical but on an efficacy optimum, and on sharing of information and continuous involvement of the client in the interaction. Behind these three models we can perceive different views on communication and knowledge. Moreover, these three models are more or less appropriate with regard to different circumstances. The current stress on the psychological, social and cultural meaning of food and the new information context in which clients live, asks for more attention to the interaction model.

Primary care physician perceptions of the nurse practitioner in the 1990s.

To evaluate factors associated with primary care physician attitudes toward nurse practitioners (NPs) providing primary care. A mailed survey of primary care physicians in Iowa. Half (N = 616) of the non-institutional-based, full-time, primary care physicians in Iowa in spring 1994. Although 360 (58.4%) responded, only physicians with complete data on all items in the model were used in these analyses (n = 259 [42.0%]). There were 2 principal dependent measures: physician attitudes toward NPs providing primary care (an 11-item instrument) and physician experience with NPs in this role. Bivariate relationships between physician demographic and practice characteristics were evaluated by chi 2 tests, as were both dependent variables. Ordinary least-squares regression was used to determine factors related to physician attitudes toward NPs. In bivariate analyses, physicians were significantly more likely to have had experience with an NP providing primary care if they were in pediatrics or obstetrics-gynecology (78.3% and 70.0%, respectively; P < .001), had been in practice for fewer than 20 years (P = .045), or were in practices with 5 or more physicians. The ordinary least-squares regression indicated that physicians with previous experience working with NPs providing primary care (P = .01), physicians practicing in urban areas with populations greater than 20,000 but far from a metropolitan area (P = .03), and general practice physicians (P = .04) had significantly more favorable attitudes toward NPs than did other primary care physicians. The association between previous experience with a primary care NP and a more positive attitude toward NPs has important implications for the training of primary care physicians, particularly in community-based, multidisciplinary settings.

Pneumococcal Vaccination: Perceptions of Primary Care Physicians

Background.Little is known about barriers to pneumococcal vaccination in the primary care setting.Methods.Mail survey to 405 randomly selected Massachusetts primary care physicians (response rate 68%).Results.Seventy-nine percent considered themselves knowledgeable about current vaccination guidelines, and 75% said vaccination is an important clinical priority. Respondents answered a mean of five of six knowledge questions about vaccination “correctly,” that is, consistent with current scientific evidence or expert opinion. Physicians reported high immunization rates: 51% thought over half their eligible patients were vaccinated; however, only 27% thought their colleagues immunized a similar number of patients. Physician attitude was the strongest independent predictor of high reported immunization rates (odds ratio of 4.7,P= 0.0001). Twenty-four percent of respondents thought physician oversight due to the need to attend to other active medical problems greatly reduces the number of patients they immunize. None of eight other financial, administrative, and clinical barriers were felt to be important by more than 7% of physicians. Sixty-six percent of physicians favored a standing order policy to immunize their eligible patients.Conclusions.Oversight and overestimation of immunization rates appear to be important barriers to pneumococcal vaccination. The literature suggests that reminder and performance feedback systems directed toward eliminating these barriers have had some success; interventions such as standing order policies may yield further improvements and appear to be acceptable to most physicians.

Physician role performance and patient satisfaction

This study tests the assumption that the overall level of a patient's satisfaction with medical services is influenced by the degree to which a physician's perceived role performance meets the patient's expectations. The data are taken from a survey of the public's expectations and perceptions of primary care physicians, which was based on a probability sample of 907 adults in a Canadian city. The findings strongly support the assumption.