Psychosexual problems in general practice: measuring consultation competence using two different measures

Area of Science:

• Medical Education
• Primary Care
• Psychosexual Medicine

Background:

• Psychosexual problems are frequently encountered in general practice.
• Effective consultation skills are crucial for assessing these sensitive issues.
• Existing generic assessment tools may not fully capture GP competence in psychosexual care.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare consultation skills of general practitioners (GPs) using a generic assessment tool versus a specialized psychosexual care framework.
• To identify differences in GP performance when assessed by different evaluation methods.

Main Methods:

• Six GPs video-recorded consultations with standardized patients.
• Consultations were assessed using the Leicester Assessment Package (LAP), a generic tool.
• Consultations were also assessed by sexologists using the Permission, Limited Information, Specific Suggestion, Intensive Therapy (PLISSIT) framework.

Main Results:

• Significant variations in core competencies were observed among GPs using both LAP and PLISSIT assessments.
• Mean scores differed significantly between doctors for both assessment methods.
• LAP scores varied by actor-scenario, while PLISSIT scores did not show significant variation in this study.

Conclusions:

• Different assessment tools yield distinct outcomes for evaluating GP consultation competence in psychosexual care.
• General practitioners exhibit significant variability in their skills when managing psychosexual issues, particularly within a cancer diagnosis context.
• The findings suggest a need for specialized assessment tools for psychosexual care in primary care settings.