Clinical Gaze in Risk-Factor Haze: Swedish GPs' Perceptions of Prescribing Cardiovascular Preventive Drugs

Dealing with being prescribed cardiovascular preventive medication: a narrative analysis of qualitative interviews with patients with recent acute coronary heart disease in Sweden

OBJECTIVE

To explore how patients with experience of acute coronary heart disease make sense of, and deal with, the fact of being prescribed cardiovascular preventive medication.

DESIGN

Qualitative interview study.

SETTING

Swedish primary care.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-one participants with experience of being prescribed cardiovascular preventive medication, recruited from a randomised controlled study of problem-based learning for self-care for coronary heart disease.

METHODS

The participants were interviewed individually 6-12 months after their hospitalisation for acute coronary disease. A narrative analysis was conducted of their accounts of being prescribed cardiovascular preventive medication.

RESULTS

Four themes shape the patients' experiences: 'A matter of living' concerns an awareness of the will to live linked to being prescribed cardiovascular preventive medication regarded in the light of the recent hospitalisation. In 'Reconciliation of conflicting self-images', patients dealt with being prescribed preventive medication through work to restore an identity of someone responsible in spite of viewing the taking of medication as questionable. The status of feeling healthy, while being someone in need of medication, also constituted conflicting self-images. Following this, taking medication was framed as necessary, not as an active choice. 'Being in the hands of expertise' is about the seeking of an answer from a reliable prescriber to the question: 'Is this medication really necessary for me?' Existential labour was done to establish that the practice of taking cardiovascular preventive medication was an inevitable necessity, rather than an active choice. 'Taking medicines no longer a big deal' could be the resulting experience of this process.

CONCLUSIONS

Unmet existential needs when being prescribed cardiovascular preventive medication seem to be a component of the burden of treatment. A continuous and trustful relationship with the prescribing doctor may facilitate the reconciliation of conflicting self-images, and support patients in their efforts to incorporate their medicines taking into daily life.

Patients' and health professionals' attitudes and perceptions towards the initiation of preventive drugs for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease: a systematic review of qualitative studies

Background

Statins and antihypertensive agents are recommended for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but they are not always prescribed to eligible patients.

Design & setting

A systematic review of qualitative studies.

Aim

To explore health professionals’ and patients’ attitudes towards cardiovascular preventive drugs.

Method

MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL, ASSIA, HMIC, Conference Proceedings Citation Index, and Open Grey were searched for studies of qualitative design without restrictions on date or language. Two reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, quality assessment, and thematic synthesis.

Results

In total, 2585 titles and abstracts were screened, yielding 27 studies, of which five met eligibility criteria on full text assessment. These included 62 patients and 47 health professionals. Five themes emerged about patient attitudes: questioning preventive drugs; perceived benefit and risks, such as improving quality of life; patient preferences; trust in health professional judgement; and family, friends, and media influences. Five themes emerged about health professional attitudes: addressing patient concerns and information; duty as a health professional to prescribe; uncertainty about preventive drug prescribing; recognising consequences of prescribing, such as unnecessary medicalisation; and personalised treatment.

Conclusion

The attitudes of patients and health professionals regarding drug initiation for primary prevention reflect the complexity of the patient–health professional encounter in primary practice. For prescribing to be more adherent to guidelines, research should further investigate the patient–health professional relationship and the appropriate communication methods required when discussing drug initiation, specifically for primary prevention.

Patient participation in decision-making about cardiovascular preventive drugs - resistance as agency

OBJECTIVE

The aim of the study was to describe and explore patient agency through resistance in decision-making about cardiovascular preventive drugs in primary care.

DESIGN

Six general practitioners from the southeast of Sweden audiorecorded 80 consultations. From these, 28 consultations with proposals from GPs for cardiovascular preventive drug treatments were chosen for theme-oriented discourse analysis.

RESULTS

The study shows how patients participate in decision-making about cardiovascular preventive drug treatments through resistance in response to treatment proposals. Passive modes of resistance were withheld responses and minimal unmarked acknowledgements. Active modes were to ask questions, contest the address of an inclusive we, present an identity as a non-drugtaker, disclose non-adherence to drug treatments, and to present counterproposals. The active forms were also found in anticipation to treatment proposals from the GPs. Patients and GPs sometimes displayed mutual renouncement of responsibility for decision-making. The decision-making process appeared to expand both beyond a particular phase in the consultations and beyond the single consultation.

CONCLUSIONS

The recognition of active and passive resistance from patients as one way of exerting agency may prove valuable when working for patient participation in clinical practice, education and research about patient-doctor communication about cardiovascular preventive medication. We propose particular attentiveness to patient agency through anticipatory resistance, patients' disclosures of non-adherence and presentations of themselves as non-drugtakers. The expansion of the decision-making process beyond single encounters points to the importance of continuity of care. KEY POINTS Guidelines recommend shared decision-making about cardiovascular preventive treatment. We need an understanding of how this is accomplished in actual consultations.This paper describes how patient agency in decision-making is displayed through different forms of resistance to treatment proposals. •The decision-making process expands beyond particular phases in consultations and beyond single encounters, implying the importance of continuity of care. •Attentiveness to patient participation through resistance in treatment negotiations is warranted in clinical practice, research and education about prescribing communication.

Communicating cardiovascular disease risk: an interview study of General Practitioners' use of absolute risk within tailored communication strategies

BACKGROUND

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention guidelines encourage assessment of absolute CVD risk - the probability of a CVD event within a fixed time period, based on the most predictive risk factors. However, few General Practitioners (GPs) use absolute CVD risk consistently, and communication difficulties have been identified as a barrier to changing practice. This study aimed to explore GPs' descriptions of their CVD risk communication strategies, including the role of absolute risk.

METHODS

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 25 GPs in New South Wales, Australia. Transcribed audio-recordings were thematically coded, using the Framework Analysis method to ensure rigour.

RESULTS

GPs used absolute CVD risk within three different communication strategies: 'positive', 'scare tactic', and 'indirect'. A 'positive' strategy, which aimed to reassure and motivate, was used for patients with low risk, determination to change lifestyle, and some concern about CVD risk. Absolute risk was used to show how they could reduce risk. A 'scare tactic' strategy was used for patients with high risk, lack of motivation, and a dismissive attitude. Absolute risk was used to 'scare' them into taking action. An 'indirect' strategy, where CVD risk was not the main focus, was used for patients with low risk but some lifestyle risk factors, high anxiety, high resistance to change, or difficulty understanding probabilities. Non-quantitative absolute risk formats were found to be helpful in these situations.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrated how GPs use three different communication strategies to address the issue of CVD risk, depending on their perception of patient risk, motivation and anxiety. Absolute risk played a different role within each strategy. Providing GPs with alternative ways of explaining absolute risk, in order to achieve different communication aims, may improve their use of absolute CVD risk assessment in practice.