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Tables
Responders (Overall Response = 644/873) Characteristic Number* Percent With Characteristic * Because of missing values from sent questionnaires, for which assistants collected baseline characteristics but forgot to fill in some of the data, the number of usable questionnaires ranged from 862 to 871. † Response rate increasing with age, P <.001 (χ2 for trend). ‡ Response rate higher for patients with chronic illness P <.001 (χ2). § Response rate increasing with higher contact frequency, P <.016 (χ2 for trend). Age, y† 18–40 182/284 64 41–60 270/349 77 61–80 170/210 81 >80 20/24 83 Sex Female 399/533 75 Male 243/338 72 Chronic illness‡ Yes 255/314 81 No 380/548 70 Contacts with physician in the last 12 mo (including last visit)§ 1–2 122/177 69 3–4 154/221 70 5–10 244/310 79 >10 121/162 75 Type of Contact (%) Situation Need Contact No. (%) Telephone Only Home Visit Birth of a family member 477/587 (81) 16 65 Death of a family member 569/630 (90) 9 81 Bad news from a specialist 616/632 (97) 10 87 Type of Contact (%) Hospital Admission Need Contact No. (%) Telephone Only Home Visit After Hospital Visit Both Visits Broken leg 447/634 (71) 33 19 12 7 Minor foot operation 210/633 (33) 23 7 2 1 Vague abdominal symptoms 574/631 (91) 38 20 21 10 Heart attack 613/633 (97) 12 37 26 22 Discovery of cancer 618/633 (98) 5 36 27 30 - Table 4.
Patients’ Need for Contact With Their Physician in Relation to Patient Characteristics
Patients’ Need for Contact* Home Scenarios† Hospital Scenarios‡ Characteristics Mean Score PValue Mean Score PValue * A higher sum score means more need for contact. † Eigenvalue component 1.37; mean sum score 5.3 (SD 1.64). ‡ Eigenvalue component 3.21; mean sum score 13.9 (SD 7.10). Age, y 18–40 4.98 11.67 41–60 4.81 <.001 13.43 .040 61–80 4.25 14.23 81–100 3.22 14.14 Sex Male 4.26 .399 13.33 .226 Female 4.38 13.78 With children Yes 4.99 <.001 13. 68 .440 No 3.65 13.06 Years in the practice <1 4.65 14.69 1–2 4.44 13.60 3–4 3.90 .053 12.36 .169 5–10 4.57 14.12 >10 4.03 12.09 Physician contacts in the past year 1–2 4.18 14.86 3–4 4.21 .019 13.79 .069 5–10 4.35 12.60 >10 4.54 12.23 Chronic illness Yes 4.22 .191 13.48 .742 No 4.42 13.26 Distance from hospital (km) <5 4.19 13.33 5–9 4.21 .680 13.28 .933 10–20 4.35 12.96 >20 4.54 13.92 Hospital admission in past year Yes 4.28 .552 13.05 .313 No 4.36 13.68 Serious life event last five years Yes 4.39 .335 13.30 .787 No 4.24 13.46 Serious psychosocial problem past 5 years Yes 4.27 13.64 No 4.37 .580 13.10 .491 Variance explained by model, % 16 8 Category Emphasis on Tasks Emphasis on Relationship Needs More frequent telephone contact More frequent home visits Preferably patient initiated Preferably physician initiated Explicit request Implicit request Purposes Primarily tasks Mainly support Prescribing Listening Assessing relatives Being there Organizing Showing commitment Motives Primarily in terms of function Mainly in terms of emotion Physician’s task Having emotional bond For future management Knowing the patient Assessment Expressed as importance Expressed as appreciation Beneficial Kind Profitable Nice
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The Article in Brief
Patients in the Netherlands want to have contact with their general practitioner (GP) when they experience a major life event (such as a birth or death) or when they are admitted to the hospital for a life-threatening condition. Following a birth or death, patients feel that contact with the GP provides emotional support and demonstrates the doctor�s commitment to them. During a hospitalization, patients feel that their doctor can provide emotional support or advice. Most patients expect the doctor to initiate such contact.
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