Communicating cardiovascular disease risk: an interview study of General Practitioners’ use of absolute risk within tailored communication strategies

Table 2 Communication strategies and perceived patient factors

	Communication strategy
	‘Positive’	‘Scare tactic’	‘Indirect’
GP perception of patient’s CVD risk	Lower	Higher	Low but lifestyle risk factors
GP perception of patient motivation	Determined	Unmotivated	Resistant to change, do not understand risk
GP perception of patient anxiety	Concerned	Dismissive	Overly anxious
Aim of communication	Reassure and motivate patient	Scare patient into taking action	Avoid negative/confused reaction from patient
How absolute risk is used	Reassure that current risk is low; show achievable future risk reduction	Emphasise current high risk; show increased future risk of CVD event	Use alternative risk formats (e.g. qualitative description of risk level, colour-coded risk chart)

ISSN: 2731-4553