Somatoform Disorders in Primary Care—An Exploratory Mixed-Methods Study on Experiences, Challenges and Coping Strategies of General Practitioners in the Federal Republic of Germany
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15480607 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Julian Wangler (0000-0003-4445-8323, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz, corresponding author), Michael Janský (0000-0002-3953-8663, Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz) |
| Year | 2024 |
| Volume | 21 |
| Issue | 7 |
| Pages | 901-901 |
| Publication date | 2024-07-10 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1661-7827 • E-ISSN: 1660-4601 |
| Publisher | Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute (PUBLISHER • CH) |
| DOI | 10.3390/ijerph21070901 |
| PMID | 39063478 |
| OpenAlex | W4400578571 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 35 |
Somatoform symptoms are widely spread in outpatient care. For treating physicians, it can be challenging to establish a relationship that is conducive to compliance and to take stabilising action when dealing with affected patients. As primary care providers, GPs are usually the first point of contact for patients with somatoform disorders; they set the course for stabilisation and further care. To date, there is a lack of studies that focus on how GPs respond to such patients. In particular, strategies for establishing a stable doctor-patient relationship have hardly been explored. Consequently, this study investigated how GPs recognise the symptoms of somatoform disorders, what significance they attach to them and how they handle patients. The primary focus is on experienced patient properties, assumed causes of somatoform disorders, obstacles and complexities in consultation, care and stabilisation strategies, as well as diagnostic forms of support. A total of 2797 GPs in the German federal states of Hesse, Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg were surveyed anonymously by means of a written questionnaire between January and August 2023. A t-test was performed with independent samples to determine significant differences between two groups. In addition, 64 GPs were interviewed between March and April by means of qualitative semi-standardised interviews. The respondents make use of a wide range of communication and stabilisation strategies when treating somatoform physical complaints. The GPs combine the establishment of a tangential doctor-patient relationship with measures to consistently exclude physical causes and to enable the best possible assessment of patients, as well as to gently introduce them to the clinical picture of somatoform disorders. Most physicians are not familiar with current clinical guidelines. Cooperation with specialists and therapists is widely described as complicated. GPs have access to a wide range of communication and stabilisation strategies for the management of somatoform physical complaints. Yet, they experience interaction with this patient group as difficult in daily practice. GPs articulate a clear need for more external support. Apart from increasing therapeutic care capacities and interdisciplinary structures, it seems advisable to extend low-threshold therapy and support services
Coping (psychology · Exploratory research · Family medicine · Focus group · Geography · German · Primary care · Psychiatry · Body Image and Dysmorphia Studies · Empathy and Medical Education · Medicine · Nursing · Psychology · Psychosomatic Disorders and Their Treatments
Statistik für Human- und Sozialwissenschaftler
The size and burden of mental disorders and other disorders of the brain in Europe 2010
Do the various categories of somatoform disorders differ from each other in symptom profile and psychological correlates
Evaluating Commonalities Across Medically Unexplained Symptoms
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |