Prevention in routine general practice: activity patterns and potential promoting factors

Primary care physicians have a unique opportunity to deliver preventive services, but a desired level of involvement is not always attained.

We analyzed self-reported preventive activity in a stratified random sample of 635 primary care physicians to determine how often they deliver effective interventions for the prevention of cardiovascular diseases, cancer, and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome as well as to assess factors associated with a greater implementation of preventive activity in routine practice.

More than 63% reported to ask about tobacco use or alcohol consumption or to check blood pressure to most of their new patients. On the other hand, only 33% asked about intravenous drug use, 14% about sexually transmitted diseases, and 6% about the number of sexual partners and less than 33% reported to have an appropriate criterion for any periodic preventive activity in routine daily practice. Correlates of high preventive activity included group practice, specific register of preventive activities, participation in the Program of Preventive Activities of the Spanish Society of Community and Family Medicine, and specific nursing consultation.

Organizational factors could be used to improve preventive activity which is far from being an adequate component of routine general practice especially with regard to human immunodeficiency virus infection and periodic preventive activity for chronic diseases.