Annals of family medicine
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2018
Influence of a New Diabetes Diagnosis on the Health Behaviors of the Patient's Partner.
When a person is given a diagnosis of diabetes, the changes in his or her health behaviors may influence the behaviors of his or her partner. The diabetes diagnosis may affect household members' perceptions of their own health risks, which could trigger behavioral change. The purpose of this study was to assess whether partners of persons with newly diagnosed diabetes changed their health behaviors compared with partners of persons without diabetes. ⋯ There were small but significant differences in health-related behavioral changes among partners of persons with newly diagnosed diabetes compared with partners of persons without diabetes, even when no intervention occurred. This finding suggests a diabetes diagnosis within a family may be a teachable moment to improve health behaviors at the household level.
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Annals of family medicine · Jul 2018
Physicians' Views of Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Not on Insulin.
This qualitative study examines to what extent and why physicans still prescribe self-monitoring of blood glucose (SMBG) in patients with non-insulin-treated type 2 diabetes (NITT2D) when the evidence shows it increases cost without improving hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), general well being, or health-related quality of life. Semistructured phone interviews with 17 primary care physicians indicated that the majority continue to recommend routine self-monitoring of blood glucose due to a compelling belief in its ability to promote the lifestyle changes needed for glycemic control. Targeting physician beliefs about the effectiveness of self-monitoring of blood glucose, and designing robust interventions accordingly, may help reduce this practice.
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Many who seek primary health care advice about mental health may be using mobile applications (apps) claiming to improve well-being or relieve symptoms. We aimed to identify how prominent mental health apps frame mental health, including who has problems and how they should be managed. ⋯ Mental health apps may promote medicalization of normal mental states and imply individual responsibility for mental well-being. Within the health care clinician-patient relationship, such messages should be challenged, where appropriate, to prevent overdiagnosis and ensure supportive health care where needed.
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The number of physicians seeing patients part time is growing, an evolution that challenges the primary care pillars of continuity and access. The growth of part-time practice is a response to burnout and to the pressures facing primary care physicians. ⋯ Primary care practices can make a number of adjustments to optimize continuity and access in this era of part-time practice. Moreover, physicians who work fewer clinical hours are equally capable of fostering trusting relationships with patients as physicians seeing patients full time.