General practice and preventive health care: a view through the eyes of community members

To identify barriers to, and enablers of, the uptake of preventive care in general practice from the perspective of community members, and to explore their sense of the effectiveness of that care.

Qualitative study involving 18 focus groups comprising 85 community members aged over 25 years, from two areas of metropolitan Melbourne that were identified as being of high and low socioeconomic status (SES). The study was performed between 25 May and 9 December 2010. Groups were stratified by age, sex and location (high or low SES).

Factors related to practitioners, patients and structure and organisation that may act as barriers to and/or enablers of preventive care in general practice.

Participants saw preventive care as legitimate in general practice when it was associated with concrete action or a test, but rated their general practitioners as poor at delivering prevention. Trust, rapport and continuity of care were viewed as enablers for participants to engage in prevention with their GP. Barriers to participants seeking preventive care through their GPs included lack of knowledge about what preventive care was relevant to them, consultations focused exclusively on acute-care concerns, time pressures and the cost of consultations.

A disconnect exists between patient perceptions of prevention in general practice and government expectations of this sector at a time when general practice is being asked to increase its focus and effectiveness in this field.