Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study
Background: Demand for general practice in the UK is higher than supply. Some patients seek appointments with GPs for minor illnesses rather than self-care. Aim: To identify the characteristics of people with a tendency to contact GPs rather than self-care. Design & setting: A national survey of...
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doaj-832ff18bd0a9447fabf8427caa2c00ed2020-11-25T03:56:26ZengRoyal College of General PractitionersBJGP Open2398-37952020-04-014210.3399/bjgpopen20X101024Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette studyAlicia O'Cathain0Rebecca Simpson1Miranda Phillips2Jon M Dickson3School of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UKSchool of Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UKNatCen Social Research, London, UKThe Academic Unit of Primary Medical Care, The Medical School, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, UKBackground: Demand for general practice in the UK is higher than supply. Some patients seek appointments with GPs for minor illnesses rather than self-care. Aim: To identify the characteristics of people with a tendency to contact GPs rather than self-care. Design & setting: A national survey of the British adult population was undertaken in 2018, which included vignettes. Method: Two vignettes focused on illness in adults: half of responders completed a vignette about cough and sore throat for 3 days, and the other half completed a vignette about diarrhoea and vomiting for 2 days. Logistic regression was undertaken to identify characteristics associated with contacting GPs compared with dealing with the problem themselves, calling NHS 111, or contacting another service, including a pharmacist. Results: The response rate was 42%, with 2906 responders. Responders were twice as likely to select ‘contact GP’ for the diarrhoea and vomiting vignette than for the cough and sore throat vignette (44.7% versus 21.8%). Factors associated with tendency for GP contact included being aged >75 years (odds ratio [OR] 2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2 to 3.2); from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities (OR 2.1, 95% CI = 1.5 to 3.0); feeling overwhelmed by unexpected health problems (OR 1.4, 95% CI = 0.99 to 2.1); lower health literacy (OR 1.2, 95% CI = 1.0 to 1.4); and believing that general practice is not overused (OR 1.3, 95% CI = 1.1 to 1.7). Conclusion: Type of symptom, personal characteristics, and population beliefs about general practice utilisation explain the tendency to contact GPs for minor illness amenable to self-care.https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/2/bjgpopen20X101024general practiceheathcare-seeking behaviourhealthcare utilisationpatientshealth surveys |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Alicia O'Cathain Rebecca Simpson Miranda Phillips Jon M Dickson |
spellingShingle |
Alicia O'Cathain Rebecca Simpson Miranda Phillips Jon M Dickson Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study BJGP Open general practice heathcare-seeking behaviour healthcare utilisation patients health surveys |
author_facet |
Alicia O'Cathain Rebecca Simpson Miranda Phillips Jon M Dickson |
author_sort |
Alicia O'Cathain |
title |
Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study |
title_short |
Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study |
title_full |
Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study |
title_fullStr |
Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study |
title_full_unstemmed |
Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study |
title_sort |
tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study |
publisher |
Royal College of General Practitioners |
series |
BJGP Open |
issn |
2398-3795 |
publishDate |
2020-04-01 |
description |
Background: Demand for general practice in the UK is higher than supply. Some patients seek appointments with GPs for minor illnesses rather than self-care. Aim: To identify the characteristics of people with a tendency to contact GPs rather than self-care. Design & setting: A national survey of the British adult population was undertaken in 2018, which included vignettes. Method: Two vignettes focused on illness in adults: half of responders completed a vignette about cough and sore throat for 3 days, and the other half completed a vignette about diarrhoea and vomiting for 2 days. Logistic regression was undertaken to identify characteristics associated with contacting GPs compared with dealing with the problem themselves, calling NHS 111, or contacting another service, including a pharmacist. Results: The response rate was 42%, with 2906 responders. Responders were twice as likely to select ‘contact GP’ for the diarrhoea and vomiting vignette than for the cough and sore throat vignette (44.7% versus 21.8%). Factors associated with tendency for GP contact included being aged >75 years (odds ratio [OR] 2.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2 to 3.2); from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities (OR 2.1, 95% CI = 1.5 to 3.0); feeling overwhelmed by unexpected health problems (OR 1.4, 95% CI = 0.99 to 2.1); lower health literacy (OR 1.2, 95% CI = 1.0 to 1.4); and believing that general practice is not overused (OR 1.3, 95% CI = 1.1 to 1.7). Conclusion: Type of symptom, personal characteristics, and population beliefs about general practice utilisation explain the tendency to contact GPs for minor illness amenable to self-care. |
topic |
general practice heathcare-seeking behaviour healthcare utilisation patients health surveys |
url |
https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/2/bjgpopen20X101024 |
work_keys_str_mv |
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