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Illness behaviour among Norwegian physicians
Elin O Rosvold1, Espen Bjertness
1Department of General Practice and Community Medicine, University of Oslo, Norway. e.o.rosvold@sanfunnsmed.uio.no
Scandinavian Journal of Public Health
|May 25, 2002
Summary
Most physicians engage in self-treatment and seek care from friends or colleagues, even though they prefer anonymous medical professionals for somatic and mental health issues. This study surveyed a national physician sample.
Area of Science:
- Medical Sociology
- Physician Health
- Occupational Health
Background:
- Physician illness behavior research often relies on limited physician groups.
- Understanding self-treatment and help-seeking is crucial for physician well-being.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate self-treatment and help-seeking behaviors in a nationwide physician sample.
- To contrast actual behaviors with preferred care-seeking patterns.
Main Methods:
- Anonymous mailed questionnaire distributed as part of a national health survey.
- Data collected from 1,476 physicians, yielding a 70% response rate.
Main Results:
- 75% of physicians reported self-treatment in the past three years.
- Self-prescribing of medication was common (73% of those using prescriptions).
- Physicians often sought care from spouses, friends, and colleagues, despite preferring treatment from unaffiliated physicians for somatic (56%) and mental health (50%) issues.
Conclusions:
- Physicians frequently practice self-treatment and utilize informal networks for care.
- A discrepancy exists between preferred anonymous care and actual help-seeking behaviors among physicians.
- Findings highlight the complex illness behavior patterns within the medical profession.