Patient Enablement After a Single Appointment With a GP: Analysis of Finnish QUALICOPC Data

• Published in: Journal of primary care & community health 2017-10, Vol.8 (4), p.213-220
• Main Authors: Tolvanen, Elina, Koskela, Tuomas H., Helminen, Mika, Kosunen, Elise
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adaptation, Psychological; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Communication; Comprehension; Family physicians; Female; Finland; General Practice; Health care expenditures; Health problems; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Multilevel Analysis; Multivariate Analysis; Original Research; Patient communication; Patient Satisfaction; Physician-Patient Relations; Primary care; Questionnaires; Referral and Consultation; Surveys and Questionnaires; Young Adult
• ISSN: 2150-1327; 2150-1319; 2150-1327
• DOI: 10.1177/2150131917730211

Background: Patient enablement is described as patient’s ability to understand and cope with illness after a consultation. The purpose of this study was to analyze factors associated with enablement in Finnish primary health care. An additional aim was to evaluate whether a single question could be used to measure enablement. Methods: A questionnaire survey was addressed to Finnish general practitioners (GPs) within the Quality and Costs of Primary Care in Europe (QUALICOPC) study framework. A trained fieldworker contacted nine patients for every participating GP. Two to 9 patients per GP (median 9 patients) completed the questionnaire. Patient enablement was measured by a single question based on the Patient Enablement Instrument questionnaire. Multivariate and multilevel analyses were performed to find variables that have an independent association with patient enablement. Results: A total of 1196 patients completed the QUALICOPC questionnaire. A total of 898 patients (75.1%) agreed that they felt better able to cope with their health problem or illness after an appointment with a GP, reflecting patient enablement. In the theme group analyses, 11 factors were found to have a statistically significant (P < .05) association with enablement. In the final multivariable model, positive perceptions of doctor-patient communication and patient satisfaction were positively associated with enablement. Conclusions: The results, using a single question to measure enablement, are comparable to previous findings on factors associated with enablement. Further research is needed and these results should be regarded as preliminary.