Factors influencing doctors’ counselling on patients’ lifestyle habits: a cohort study

Abstract

BackgroundLifestyle changes are important for prevention and treatment of many common diseases, and doctors have an important role in the lifestyle counselling of patients. It is important to know more about factors influencing lifestyle counselling.AimTo investigate the frequency of counselling about physical activity compared to that about alcohol habits; the impact of doctors’ own physical activity and alcohol habits on patient counselling about these lifestyle dimensions; and whether perceived mastery of clinical work or vulnerable personality have a confounding or moderating effect on these associations.Design & settingIn this nationwide cohort survey, a total of 978 doctors in Norway were surveyed by postal questionnaires in 1993/94 and 2014. The response rate was 562/978 (57%).MethodThe outcome variables were questions on frequency of asking about alcohol and exercise habits. Explanatory variables were questions on doctors’ own exercise habits, drinking habits (using Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test [AUDIT]), perceived mastery of clinical work, vulnerable personality, and specialty. Associations were studied by linear regression analysis.ResultsOf the 526 responders, 307 (58%) reported asking usually/often about exercise habits, while n = 140/524 (27%) usually/often asked about alcohol habits. A doctor's own physical activity level was associated with frequency of asking about physical activity (unstandardised regression coefficient [B] = 0.07; 95% confidence intervals [CI] = 0.01 to 0.13). There were no significant associations between doctors' own lifestyle habits and counselling on alcohol habits. Doctors with low levels of vulnerability asked more frequently about physical activity, regardless of their own physical activity habits (F = 2.41, P = 0.048).ConclusionDoctors’ own lifestyles influenced their preventive counselling about physical activity, but not about alcohol. Vulnerability moderated these effects, indicating the importance of early interventions to help doctors with a vulnerable personality to handle negative criticism from patients.

Comparing the preventive behavior of medical students and physicians in the era of COVID‐19: Novel medical problems demand novel curricular interventions

“…12 Evidence suggests that lifestyle followed by doctors influences their treatment of the patients. 13 Doctors who adopt and exhibit healthy behaviors provide better advice and motivation to their patients. 14 As prevention is currently our only way to counter disease transmission, the behavior and advice of doctors and medical students treating patients at the hospital will play a fundamental role in control efforts against COVID-19.…”

How to Educate Pregnant Women about Endocrine Disruptors?

“…These skills permit more space to be given to listening than to transmitting information, to not judge, to ask more open questions, and to give more space to experience than inform, thereby obtaining the best results in practices change [32]. Actually, suitable communication skills are taught to nurses [33] but not sufficiently to others health professionals, in particular physicians [34]. Indeed, counseling about lifestyle habits can be difficult for physicians depending on their own lifestyle, work self-efficacy and personality, job stress, and professional resilience [34].…”

“…Actually, suitable communication skills are taught to nurses [33] but not sufficiently to others health professionals, in particular physicians [34]. Indeed, counseling about lifestyle habits can be difficult for physicians depending on their own lifestyle, work self-efficacy and personality, job stress, and professional resilience [34]. One perspective could be to develop interventions (resilience workshops, cognitive behavioral training, mindfulness, and relaxation) that aim to improve professional resilience and influence the frequency of counseling in a positive direction [35].…”

Primary Care: How to Increase Physical Activity in Your Patients

“…Адекватные ФН положительно влияют на углеводный обмен: уменьшают толерантность к углеводам, увеличивают чувствительность тканей к инсулину, снижают риск развития гиперинсулинемии, инсулинорезистентности и СД 2 типа [21,22]. Нарушение углеводного обмена и развитие СД 2 типа ускоряют развитие заболеваний атеросклеротического генеза и их осложнений, а ФА, улучшая углеводный обмен, способствует снижению риска атеросклероза и обусловленных им заболеваний [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. Доказано влияние аэробных упражнений на снижение адипонектина с низкой молекулярной массой и инсулина в сыворотке крови [25].…”

“…При наличии ХНИЗ составляется индивидуальный план повышения ФА, учитывая индивидуальную клиническую ситуацию, риски и способности к выполнению упражнений [5]. Наиболее эффективно решить задачи адекватного повышения ФА могут врачи общей практики (семейные врачи) -ведущие специалисты в области персонализированной медицины, которые предельно погружены в детали клинического состояния, социально-экономической и культурной ситуации своих пациентов и их семей [15,16]. В процессе поэтапного профилактического консультирования они могут использовать индивидуальные фитнес-трекеры пациента (браслет или клипса со встроенным датчиком физической активности, фитнес-часы с пульсометром или монитором сердечного ритма, карманные фитнес-трекеры и/или смартфоны) для индивидуального суточного мониторинга физических нагрузок.…”