Article: Doctors' personal health care choices: A cross-sectional survey in a mixed public/private setting

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TitleDoctors' personal health care choices: A cross-sectional survey in a mixed public/private setting
AuthorsChen, JY1
Tse, EYY1
Lam, TP1
Li, DKT1
Chao, DVK1 2
Kwan, CW1
Issue Date2008
PublisherBioMed Central Ltd. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/
CitationBmc Public Health, 2008, v. 8 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-183
AbstractBackground. Among Western countries, it has been found that physicians tend to manage their own illnesses and tend not have their own independent family physicians. This is recognized as a significant issue for both physicians and, by extension, the patients under their care, resulting in initiatives seeking to address this. Physicians' personal health care practices in Asia have yet to be documented. Methods. An anonymous cross-sectional postal questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong, China. All 9570 medical practitioners in Hong Kong registered with the Hong Kong Medical Council in 2003 were surveyed. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were applied. Results. There were 4198 respondents to the survey; a response rate of 44%. Two-thirds of respondents took care of themselves when they were last ill, with 62% of these self-medicating with prescription medication. Physicians who were graduates of Hong Kong medical schools, those working in general practice and non-members of the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians were more likely to do so. Physician specialty was found to be the most influential reason in the choice of caregiver by those who had ever consulted another medical practitioner. Only 14% chose consultation with a FM/GP with younger physians and non-Hong Kong medical graduates having a higher likelihood of doing so. Seventy percent of all respondents believed that having their own personal physician was unnecessary. Conclusion. Similar to the practice of colleagues in other countries, a large proportion of Hong Kong physicians self-manage their illnesses, take self-obtained prescription drugs and believe they do not need a personal physician. Future strategies to benefit the medical care of Hong Kong physicians will have to take these practices and beliefs into consideration. © 2008 Chen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
ISSN1471-2458
2011 Impact Factor: 1.997
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.138
DOIhttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-183
ISI Accession Number IDWOS:000257164400001
PubMed Central IDPMC2429910
ReferencesReferences in Scopus
DC Field
Value
dc.contributor.authorChen, JY
dc.contributor.authorTse, EYY
dc.contributor.authorLam, TP
dc.contributor.authorLi, DKT
dc.contributor.authorChao, DVK
dc.contributor.authorKwan, CW
dc.date.accessioned2010-04-12T01:38:54Z
dc.date.available2010-04-12T01:38:54Z
dc.date.issued2008
dc.description.abstractBackground. Among Western countries, it has been found that physicians tend to manage their own illnesses and tend not have their own independent family physicians. This is recognized as a significant issue for both physicians and, by extension, the patients under their care, resulting in initiatives seeking to address this. Physicians' personal health care practices in Asia have yet to be documented. Methods. An anonymous cross-sectional postal questionnaire survey was conducted in Hong Kong, China. All 9570 medical practitioners in Hong Kong registered with the Hong Kong Medical Council in 2003 were surveyed. Chi-square tests and logistic regression models were applied. Results. There were 4198 respondents to the survey; a response rate of 44%. Two-thirds of respondents took care of themselves when they were last ill, with 62% of these self-medicating with prescription medication. Physicians who were graduates of Hong Kong medical schools, those working in general practice and non-members of the Hong Kong College of Family Physicians were more likely to do so. Physician specialty was found to be the most influential reason in the choice of caregiver by those who had ever consulted another medical practitioner. Only 14% chose consultation with a FM/GP with younger physians and non-Hong Kong medical graduates having a higher likelihood of doing so. Seventy percent of all respondents believed that having their own personal physician was unnecessary. Conclusion. Similar to the practice of colleagues in other countries, a large proportion of Hong Kong physicians self-manage their illnesses, take self-obtained prescription drugs and believe they do not need a personal physician. Future strategies to benefit the medical care of Hong Kong physicians will have to take these practices and beliefs into consideration. © 2008 Chen et al; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
dc.description.naturepublished_or_final_version
dc.identifier.citationBmc Public Health, 2008, v. 8 [How to Cite?]
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-183
dc.identifier.citeulike2845646
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-2458-8-183
dc.identifier.hkuros143107
dc.identifier.isiWOS:000257164400001
dc.identifier.issn1471-2458
2011 Impact Factor: 1.997
2011 SCImago Journal Rankings: 0.138
dc.identifier.openurl
dc.identifier.pmcidPMC2429910
dc.identifier.pmid18505593
dc.identifier.scopuseid_2-s2.0-45249106852
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10722/57514
dc.identifier.volume8
dc.languageeng
dc.publisherBioMed Central Ltd. The Journal's web site is located at http://www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/
dc.publisher.placeUnited Kingdom
dc.relation.ispartofBMC Public Health
dc.relation.referencesReferences in Scopus
dc.rightsCreative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License
dc.rightsB M C Public Health. Copyright © BioMed Central Ltd.
dc.subject.meshHealth Behavior
dc.subject.meshPhysicians - psychology
dc.subject.meshSelf Care - utilization
dc.subject.meshSpecialties, Medical - statistics & numerical data
dc.subject.meshChoice Behavior
dc.titleDoctors' personal health care choices: A cross-sectional survey in a mixed public/private setting
dc.typeArticle
Author Affiliations
  1. The University of Hong Kong
  2. United Christian Hospital Hong Kong