Physician Diagnostic and Reporting Practices for Gastrointestinal Illnesses in Three Health Regions of British Columbia

Objectives: To estimate seasonal proportions of patient visits due to acute gastrointestinal illness (GI), assess factors influencing physicians' stool sample requests, their understanding of laboratory testing protocols and adherence to provincial stool request guidelines in three British Colu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian journal of public health 2007-07, Vol.98 (4), p.306-310
Main Authors: Edge, Victoria L., Odoi, Agricola, Fyfe, Murray, MacDougall, Laura, Majowicz, Shannon E., Doré, Kathryn, Flint, James A., Boom, Nicole, Muchaal, Pia K., Sockett, Paul N.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
British Columbia
Confidence intervals
Data analysis
Data collection
Diagnostic tests
Diarrhea
Diseases
Epidemiology
Family physicians
Gastroenterology
Gastrointestinal diseases
Gastrointestinal Diseases - diagnosis
Health participants
Health surveillance
Humans
Mandatory Reporting
Medical practice
Medical sciences
Miscellaneous
Pathogens
Patients
Physician's Role
Physicians
Population Surveillance
Practice Patterns, Physicians' - standards
Primary care
Proportions
Public health
Public health. Hygiene
Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine
Questionnaires
RESEARCH/RECHERCHE
Response rates
Surveillance
Surveys and Questionnaires
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Summary:Objectives: To estimate seasonal proportions of patient visits due to acute gastrointestinal illness (GI), assess factors influencing physicians' stool sample requests, their understanding of laboratory testing protocols and adherence to provincial stool request guidelines in three British Columbia (BC) health regions. Methods: During a one-year period, eligible physicians were mailed four self-administered questionnaires used to estimate proportions of patients diagnosed with GI, related stool sample requests in the preceding month, and to assess factors prompting stool sample requests. Results: The response rate overall for the initial comprehensive questionnaire was 18.6%; 7.4% responded to all four questionnaires. An estimated 2.5% of patient visits had a GI diagnosis; of these, 24.8% were asked to submit stool samples. Significant (p7 days; "non-patient" factors included: laboratory availability, time to receive laboratory results, and cost. Physicians' perceptions of which organisms were tested for in a 'routine' stool culture varied. Interpretation: physicians appear to adhere to existing standardized guidelines for sample requests. This may result in systematic under-representation of certain diseases in reportable communicable disease statistics. Objectifs : Estimer, dans trois régions sanitaires de la Colombie-Britannique (C.-B.), les pourcentages saisonniers de visites médicales en raison de maladies gastrointestinales (MGI) aiguës, et déterminer les facteurs incitant les médecins à demander des échantillons de selles, leurs connaissances des protocoles d'essai des laboratoires et leur respect des lignes directrices relatives aux demandes d'échantillons de selles. Méthode : Sur une période d'un an, les médecins admissibles ont reçu par la poste quatre questionnaires à remplir soi-même, qui ont servi à estimer le pourcentage de patients chez qui une MGI avait été diagnostiquée et le nombre connexe d'échantillons de selles demandés le mois précédent, et à évaluer les facteurs incitant les médecins à demander un échantillon de selles. Résultats : Le taux global de réponse au premier questionnaire général s'est élevé à 18,6 %, et 7,4 % des médecins ont répondu aux quatre questionnaires. Un taux estimatif de 2,5
ISSN:0008-4263
1920-7476
DOI:10.1007/bf03405409