Family physician assessment of the socio-emotional needs of elderly patients

The main objective of this study was to determine the characteristics of family physicians that might influence their judgments of socio-emotionally demanding elderly patients. Thirty-four physicians in five suburban New Jersey practice settings assessed elderly patients who visited their offices during a two-year period. Background data were collected on the physicians, and 193 elderly patients were interviewed. Regression analyses were performed on the data. The final regression analysis yielded the following results: 1) socio-emotional demands were partially explained by the patients being female, perceiving themselves as sickly, and having little social support in their lives; 2) the most significant factor was the physicians' propensity to view less medically needy patients as socio-emotionally demanding; and 3) the doctors' youth and predetermined notions that elderly patients are demanding also partially explained the variance in socio-emotional physician use. These findings have several implications for family practice residency education.