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Biomedical subjects

Y Talbot

Publications and source records attributed to Y Talbot.

11 recordsLinked to original sources

Canadians without regular medical doctors. Who are they?

OBJECTIVE: Because having a regular medical doctor is associated with positive outcomes, this study attempted to determine the characteristics of Canadians without regular doctors so that alternative methods of delivering care to people with those characteristics can be studied. DESIGN: Secondary data analysis of the National Population Health Survey using bivariate analyses and logistic regression. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 15,777 respondents older than 20 years. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Responses to the question "Do you have a regular medical doctor?" and analysis of 11 variables covering demographics, health status, and lifestyle factors. RESULTS: One in seven respondents did not have a regular doctor. Younger respondents, men, single people, poorer respondents, respondents who perceived themselves in better health, recent immigrants, those without confidants, and smokers were more likely not to have regular doctors. Comparing provinces, participants from Quebec were least likely to have regular doctors. CONCLUSION: Primary care reform might need to consider alternative ways of providing care to certain people. Future primary care programs could be targeted to improve coverage of relatively underserviced people, particularly men, people on low incomes, those without confidants, and recent immigrants.

Adult↗

Does having regular care by a family physician improve preventive care?

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether regular care from a family physician is associated with receiving preventive services. DESIGN: Secondary analysis of the 1994 National Population Health Survey. SETTING: Cross-sectional sample of the Canadian population. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 15,731 non-institutionalized adults. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Reported visits to general practitioners and specialists in the previous year and reports of having had blood pressure measurements, mammography, and Pap smears. RESULTS: A graded relationship was observed between level of regular care by a family physician in the previous year (none, some, regular) and receiving preventive services. Those without regular doctors and those reporting only some care by a family physician were less likely to have ever had their blood pressure checked than adults receiving ongoing care from a regular family physician. Women reporting some or no care were less likely to have had mammography within 2 years or to have ever had Pap smears. CONCLUSION: Adults who receive regular care from a family physician are more likely to receive recommended preventive services.

Adult↗

Why don't men seek help? Family physicians' perspectives on help-seeking behavior in men.

BACKGROUND: Men tend to underuse primary care health services despite their susceptibility to particular types of illness. The purpose of this study was to report the family physician's perspective on why men do not access the health care system for medical problems. METHODS: We used focus group interviews to identify major themes. The participants were family physicians in active practice randomly selected from a list of 500 full- and part-time teachers. Four focus groups were formed from 18 participants (12 men, 6 women), in practice an average of 17 years. Eleven of the physicians were in community practice. RESULTS: Three key themes were identified: (1) Support: Men appear to get most of their support for health concerns from their female partners, little from their male friends. Their pattern of seeking support tends to be indirect rather than straightforward. (2) Help Seeking: Perceived vulnerability, fear, and denial are important influences on whether men seek help. They look for help for specific problems rather than for more general health concerns. (3) Barriers: Personal barriers involved factors related to a man's traditional social role characteristics: a sense of immunity and immortality; difficulty relinquishing control; a belief that seeking help is unacceptable; and believing men are not interested in prevention. Systematic barriers had to do with time and access; having to state the reason for a visit; and the lack of a male care provider. CONCLUSIONS: Many of these findings are supported by psychological theories. Future research should apply these theories in more transferable populations and settings. However, an in-depth understanding of the patterns of men's use of primary care services is needed before we can determine if a regular source of primary care would have a positive impact on their health.

Adult↗

Five Weekend National Family Medicine Fellowship. Program for faculty development.

PROBLEM ADDRESSEDMany faculty development programs are thought time-consuming and inaccessible to academic family physicians or physicians wanting to move into academic positions. This is largely due to difficulty in leaving their practices for extended periods. Canadian family medicine needs trained leaders who can work in teams and are well grounded in the principles of their discipline as they relate to education, management, research, and policy making.OBJECTIVE OF PROGRAMTo develop a team of leaders in family medicine.MAIN COMPONENTS OF PROGRAMThe Five Weekend National Family Medicine Fellowship Program focuses on the essentials of education, management, communication, critical appraisal skills, and the principles of family medicine to develop leadership and team-building skills for faculty and community-based family physicians entering academic careers. This unique 1-year program combines intensive weekend seminars with small-group projects between weekends. It emphasizes a broader set of skills than just teaching, has regional representation, and focuses on leadership and teamwork using a time-efficient format.CONCLUSIONThe program has graduated 34 Fellows over the last 3 years. More than 90% of the 35 projects developed through course work have been presented in national or provincial peer-reviewed settings. Quantitative ratings of program structure, course content, and course outcomes have been positive.

Canada↗

Transition to parenthood. What about fathers?

Family physicians are in a strategic position to help couples adjust to the many changes that occur during the transition to parenthood. We review some of the issues for fathers at this time and suggest strategies for family physicians for including fathers and assisting couples to adjust to the changes in the interest of promoting healthy families.

Adaptation, Psychological↗

Applying the concept of the reflective practitioner to understanding and teaching family medicine.

This article contends that what makes family practice unique as a medical specialty is not so much its content (eg, continuity of care, broad range of patient population) as it is the process of clinical practice (ie, how the specialty is actually practiced in ongoing patient encounters). However, insufficient attention has been paid to critically analyzing and interpreting this process. We present a model derived from other "practice professions," such as architecture, known as reflection-in-action. This model is offered as a way of first apprehending and subsequently teaching the "professional artistry" which constitutes a critical component of family practice. Specific teaching approaches designed to enhance reflective medical practice are delineated.

Education, Medical↗

Hypnosis training enhances communication skills.

We hypothesized that attending a brief, introductory hypnosis training workshop enhances communication skills. We speculated that attending such a programme would enable residents in a Family Medicine training programme to identify the psycho-social concerns of their patients more rapidly. To test the hypothesis five residents were videotaped interviewing a standardized patient before and after attending a hypnosis workshop. A blinded observer reviewed the tapes. The observer counted the number of comments made by the residents on their patient's non-verbal behaviour and the time required to confront the patient's primary concern. The residents made more comments on their patient's non-verbal communication after training than before, and more than the controls. They also shortened the time until they addressed the primary concern. This difference was not statistically significant. There was however a strong negative correlation (r = -0.92) between the number of these comments made and the time required to unveil the patient's hidden agenda. An increased awareness of non-verbal cues, achieved through hypnosis training, appears to help reveal a patient's hidden agenda. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Canada↗