Table 6 Explanation of the factors within the theme “patient factors”
Factors | Definition | Quote |
|---|---|---|
Treatment history | Patients with CMP often had treatment before. Earlier referrals could be for diagnostics, physical treatment, psychological treatment or medicine use. | “Before you refer there, most of the patients are patients with whom you have had, of course, a part of the trajectory where you have already had physical therapy, have used several things…” (GP1). |
Functioning | Daily functioning, such as doing the household, and physical functioning, such as being able to walk. | “...if there really is a specific act or function in which they are in a lot more pain, then an occupational therapist is very helpful.” (GP5). |
Referral request | The patient could have a request for a referral to a specific treatment or institution but this might also be a request for a somatic treatment instead of a psychological consult. | “…and in 90% of the back clinic, it is mainly the back pain patients who go that way with a request.” (GP1) |
Motivation | Motivation drove a patient to a certain behaviour and commitment to the treatment. This code was used when it was not just about being open for a treatment but also being committed and willing to invest. | “...some patients say: yes, I want to do anything about it.” (GP9). |
Loadability | The enduring capacity that an individual has both on the mental and physical level. | “Looking at most chronic patients I have or the fibromyalgia patients, they are more likely to go to a psychosomatic physiotherapist or a psychologist, because they often have load-bearing problems too.” (GP3). |
Lifestyle | The patient had a way of living with certain habits that have influenced their health, for example smoking or having overweight. | “This was in regard to an overweight woman...” (GP10). |
Insurance | In the Netherlands, people get to choose their own insurance company and package and not every company or package covered every treatment. | “...with physiotherapy, patients are quickly at the point where they have to pay for their treatment, which certainly plays a role.” (GP2). |