TY - JOUR
KW - Adolescent
KW - Adult
KW - Aged
KW - Attitude to Health
KW - Chronic Disease/epidemiology
KW - Denmark/epidemiology
KW - Female
KW - Follow-Up Studies
KW - Health Status
KW - Humans
KW - Life Style
KW - Linear Models
KW - Male
KW - Middle Aged
KW - Patient Acceptance of Health Care
KW - Patients/psychology/statistics & numerical data
KW - Personality Inventory
KW - Primary Health Care/utilization
KW - Questionnaires
KW - Sick Role
KW - Somatoform Disorders/diagnosis/epidemiology/psychology
KW - Stress, Psychological/epidemiology/psychology
AU - L. Frostholm
AU - P. Fink
AU - K. S. Christensen
AU - T. Toft
AU - E. Oernboel
AU - F. Olesen
AU - J. Weinman
A1 - 
AB - OBJECTIVE: To investigate if primary care patients' perceptions of a current health problem were associated with use of health care. METHOD: One thousand seven hundred eighty-five patients presenting a new health problem to 1 of 38 physicians from 28 general practices in Aarhus County, Denmark. Patients completed a questionnaire on their illness perceptions and emotional distress before the consultation. The physicians completed a questionnaire for each patient on diagnostics and prognostics. Register data on primary health care utilization 3 years before and 2 years after baseline were obtained. Odds ratios were estimated to examine associations between previous health care use and illness perceptions. Linear regression analysis was performed to examine if illness perceptions predicted later health care use. RESULTS: Previous use: Higher use was associated with psychosocial, stress, and lifestyle attributions. Accident/chance attributions were associated with higher use for patients with a chronic disorder but with lower use for patients without a chronic disorder. A strong illness identity (number of self-reported symptoms), illness worry, a long timeline perspective, a belief that the symptoms would have serious consequences, and all emotional distress variables were associated with higher use. Use during follow-up: Infection/lowered immunity attributions were associated with higher use for patients with a chronic disorder, whereas psychosocial and lifestyle attributions were associated with higher use for all patients. Illness worry and all emotional distress variables predicted higher health care use. A strong illness identity, a long timeline perspective, a belief in serious consequences, and stress and accident/chance attributions were among the strongest predictors of health care use in a multivariate model including all variables. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' perceptions of a current health problem are associated with health care use and may offer an obvious starting point for a biopsychosocial approach in primary care.
BT - Psychosomatic medicine
C5 - Medically Unexplained Symptoms
CP - 6
CY - United States
DO - 10.1097/01.psy.0000189164.85653.bc
IS - 6
JF - Psychosomatic medicine
N2 - OBJECTIVE: To investigate if primary care patients' perceptions of a current health problem were associated with use of health care. METHOD: One thousand seven hundred eighty-five patients presenting a new health problem to 1 of 38 physicians from 28 general practices in Aarhus County, Denmark. Patients completed a questionnaire on their illness perceptions and emotional distress before the consultation. The physicians completed a questionnaire for each patient on diagnostics and prognostics. Register data on primary health care utilization 3 years before and 2 years after baseline were obtained. Odds ratios were estimated to examine associations between previous health care use and illness perceptions. Linear regression analysis was performed to examine if illness perceptions predicted later health care use. RESULTS: Previous use: Higher use was associated with psychosocial, stress, and lifestyle attributions. Accident/chance attributions were associated with higher use for patients with a chronic disorder but with lower use for patients without a chronic disorder. A strong illness identity (number of self-reported symptoms), illness worry, a long timeline perspective, a belief that the symptoms would have serious consequences, and all emotional distress variables were associated with higher use. Use during follow-up: Infection/lowered immunity attributions were associated with higher use for patients with a chronic disorder, whereas psychosocial and lifestyle attributions were associated with higher use for all patients. Illness worry and all emotional distress variables predicted higher health care use. A strong illness identity, a long timeline perspective, a belief in serious consequences, and stress and accident/chance attributions were among the strongest predictors of health care use in a multivariate model including all variables. CONCLUSIONS: Patients' perceptions of a current health problem are associated with health care use and may offer an obvious starting point for a biopsychosocial approach in primary care.
PP - United States
PY - 2005
SN - 1534-7796; 0033-3174
SP - 997
EP - 1005
EP - 
T1 - The patients' illness perceptions and the use of primary health care
T2 - Psychosomatic medicine
TI - The patients' illness perceptions and the use of primary health care
U1 - Medically Unexplained Symptoms
U2 - 16314606
U3 - 10.1097/01.psy.0000189164.85653.bc
VL - 67
VO - 1534-7796; 0033-3174
Y1 - 2005
ER -