TY - JOUR
T1 - Communicating with mismatch and tension
T2 - Treatment provision experiences of primary care doctors treating patients with overactive bladder in Hong Kong
AU - Siu, Judy Yuen Man
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 Siu.
PY - 2015/10/30
Y1 - 2015/10/30
N2 - Background: Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common chronic bladder dysfunction worldwide. As the first contact point of health care, primary health care providers are often consulted by patients seeking initial consultation for OAB. The relatively short history of the existence of OAB in medicine and low public awareness of OAB in Hong Kong, however, often serve as a challenge to primary health care providers in treating patients with OAB. The experiences of patients and health care providers are often influenced by the interaction between these two groups, hence both health care providers and patients are key determinants of the entire treatment experience, and the perspectives of health care providers should not be overlooked. However, patient experiences have been the main focus of related studies, few of which have examined the treatment provision experiences and perspectives of health care providers. This research gap is notable considering that the satisfaction and morale of health care providers can influence treatment outcome. Methods: This study adopted a qualitative research approach by conducting semistructured individual interviews with 30 private practice primary care doctors in Hong Kong between November 2013 and May 2014. Results: Lacking confidence in treating OAB patients, encountering mismatch with patients in treatment expectations and communication style, and feeling embarrassed when communicating with OAB patients were the experiences reported by the sampled doctors. Conclusion: The sampled doctors' treatment provision experiences revealed a general lack of knowledge about OAB among primary care doctors in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the negative stereotype of and lack of trust in private practice doctors created tension between the doctors and patients. This lack of mutual trust was particularly unfavourable for the doctors to provide long-term treatment and support to patients with OAB. The embedded distrust of private practice doctors also affected the prescribing behaviour of the doctors, who prescribed medication only to satisfy patient demands, which may lead to antibiotic abuse and resistance. Finally, the expectations of doctor professionalism and behaviour in Chinese cultures and the cultural perceptions of urinary diseases caused challenging treatment provision experiences for the sampled doctors.
AB - Background: Overactive bladder (OAB) is a common chronic bladder dysfunction worldwide. As the first contact point of health care, primary health care providers are often consulted by patients seeking initial consultation for OAB. The relatively short history of the existence of OAB in medicine and low public awareness of OAB in Hong Kong, however, often serve as a challenge to primary health care providers in treating patients with OAB. The experiences of patients and health care providers are often influenced by the interaction between these two groups, hence both health care providers and patients are key determinants of the entire treatment experience, and the perspectives of health care providers should not be overlooked. However, patient experiences have been the main focus of related studies, few of which have examined the treatment provision experiences and perspectives of health care providers. This research gap is notable considering that the satisfaction and morale of health care providers can influence treatment outcome. Methods: This study adopted a qualitative research approach by conducting semistructured individual interviews with 30 private practice primary care doctors in Hong Kong between November 2013 and May 2014. Results: Lacking confidence in treating OAB patients, encountering mismatch with patients in treatment expectations and communication style, and feeling embarrassed when communicating with OAB patients were the experiences reported by the sampled doctors. Conclusion: The sampled doctors' treatment provision experiences revealed a general lack of knowledge about OAB among primary care doctors in Hong Kong. Furthermore, the negative stereotype of and lack of trust in private practice doctors created tension between the doctors and patients. This lack of mutual trust was particularly unfavourable for the doctors to provide long-term treatment and support to patients with OAB. The embedded distrust of private practice doctors also affected the prescribing behaviour of the doctors, who prescribed medication only to satisfy patient demands, which may lead to antibiotic abuse and resistance. Finally, the expectations of doctor professionalism and behaviour in Chinese cultures and the cultural perceptions of urinary diseases caused challenging treatment provision experiences for the sampled doctors.
KW - Hong Kong
KW - Overactive bladder patients
KW - Primary care doctors
KW - Treatment provision experiences
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84945975835&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1186/s12875-015-0380-0
DO - 10.1186/s12875-015-0380-0
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 26519163
AN - SCOPUS:84945975835
SN - 1471-2296
VL - 16
JO - BMC Family Practice
JF - BMC Family Practice
IS - 1
M1 - 160
ER -