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Table 3 Perceiving the need for GP-based services

From: What matters to people with chronic conditions when accessing care in Australian general practice? A qualitative study of patient, carer, and provider perspectives

Topic

Themes and examples

Factors affecting ability to perceive need for GP-based services affecting patient sub-groups

Perceiving overall need for regular GP

Q1 “I think especially having chronic illnesses, I’ve probably found in the past I haven’t necessarily had a regular GP and I can definitely see the benefit in having a regular GP who has an understanding and overview of your medical history, especially if you’ve had long term chronic illnesses.” (Patient 3 CES)

Q2 “I think over the years the patients are more educated. They don’t ask questions anymore because they understand what [a Care Plan] is and they also find out from friends and things like that [..] now they hardly ask anything. Before they [used to ask] why am I doing this? Why do I need to do this? Now they initiate that at the consult, ‘I need to do a Care Plan.’” (GP 6 SWS)

Culture and health literacy barriers

Q3 “We have a lot of Pacific, Samoan and ethnic populations. They’re at more risk of getting certain conditions, so things like diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease. There is an element, whether it’s a health literacy thing or a cultural background, where they don’t necessarily understand the severity of preventative health and having problems with things that can be presented.” (GP Registrar 1 SWS)

Mental illness

Q4 “[…] some of the patients don’t show up because they don’t understand why they need to see a GP. That could be partly due to their mental illness that limits their insight into attending a GP […]” (GP 2 CES)

Offering patient education on need for GP visits

Educating patients on need for GP visits

Q5 “[…] sometimes when the patient comes in to see me they’re not entirely sure why they’re here to see me so I have to really explain and go out of my way to explain the benefits and the services that I can offer to them as a GP. That could be anything from doing a general health check-up, physical examination, ordering some routine tests like blood tests.” (GP 2 CES)