Correlates of internists' practices in caring for patients with elevated serum cholesterol

Abstract This study examined the relationship between internists personal health practices, health beliefs, and demographic characteristics and their reported practices in caring for patients with elevated serum cholesterol. A questionnaire was mailed to 271 internists (181 respondents) on the medical staff of an urban university hospital. Perceived ability to provide dietary counseling was consistently associated with interventions offered by the internists themselves, including education, counseling, and use of lipid-lowering drugs and with defining elevation of serum cholesterol at a lower value. It was not associated with referral to the dietitian or the Lipid Clinic. There were only weak and inconsistent associations between physician personal health practices, including diet and having a personal cholesterol goal, and any of the physician-reported professional practices examined. These findings strengthen the hypothesis that there is a relationship between physicians' perceived competence and their use of diet counseling and lipid-lowering drugs.