To what extent do mass media health messages trigger patients' contacts with their GPs?

A recent Cochrane review concluded that mass media intervention may play an important role in influencing the use of health services, but little is known about the effects of unplanned untargeted information in the media.

To investigate the influence of messages in mass media about health issues on patients' contacts with their GPs.

A case crossover design study comparing the frequency of receiving mass media health messages in a period before contact with a GP versus the frequency in matching control time periods for the same individuals. The outcome measure was the odds of patients having received health messages in the period before they contacted their GP, compared to the odds in the control periods.

The practices of 21 single-handed Danish GPs.

Three hundred and twenty-two patients between 18 and 91 years of age were interviewed by telephone after an unscheduled contact with a GP, and 148 patients were interviewed again 3-6 months later. Health media messages were only recorded if patients could remember the topics.

More than a third (35%) of the patients remembered receiving health media messages in the week before contact. No significant relationship (odds ratio = 1.2, 95% confidence interval = 0.5 to 2.6) between health messages and contact with GPs could be observed.

In the absence of health campaigns and drug advertisements, mass media health messages seldom directly trigger patients to consult their GPs.