Prevention of lifestyle-related disease: general practitioners' views about their role, effectiveness and resources

An interview survey of GPs working within one district health authority was carried out in order to examine their views on the prevention of lifestyle-related disease. The 48 doctors (89%) who took part considered that prevention was an important part of their work, but were cautious about their effectiveness and over achieving change in many of their patients. Many expressed considerable concern about their ability to cope with the anticipated workload and the conflict with curative work, particularly when considering numbers of staff that could be made available. The views of the doctors in this study reflect uncertainty about their ability to carry out effective prevention of lifestyle-related disease for the general population. This uncertainty is not unexpected given that the important risk factors are widely distributed in the population, and greatly influenced by social norms. This has important implications for the planning of health promotion activities. Although additional resources and skills for the organization and conduct of health education work are also required, this need must be dealt with alongside the concerns expressed by the doctors in the study. These problems might be addressed by a coordinated district strategy for the prevention of lifestyle-related disease, developed in conjunction with other agencies responsible for public health, and with community groups.