Family Issues in Japanese Clinics: Concordance between Patients' and Physicians' Views

The objectives of the present study were to clarify the frequency and content of family issues for patients in Japanese clinics, and the concordance between physicians' and patients' views of family issues.

In this study, we used a cross-sectional design with a questionnaire survey. Participants were outpatients and their physicians in charge (four family physicians) at four Japanese clinics. The main body of research was conducted between April 5 and May 15, 2004. After obtaining oral informed consent, the physician in charge distributed questionnaires to participating patients to complete at home. The questionnaire comprised three items: 1) Do you have any worries about your family? 2) Are you comfortable consulting a physician regarding your family issue?, and 3) If possible, could you tell us why you feel like that?Participants provided written informed consent and answered the questionnaire before sealing it in an envelope and posting it back to the research center. Physicians in charge completed their version of the questionnaire and independently sent the data to the center.

Of the 272 participating patients, 118 (45.6%) had family issues. "Health problems with family members" (28%) and "family life cycle issues" (19.5%) were the main content of these issues. Physicians indicated that 45.7% of patients had family issues. The rate of concordance between physicians' and patients' perspectives regarding family issues was 46.6%.

Family issues can therefore be regarded as a common health problem due to the frequency. There was some inconsistency between physicians' and patients' views, but much of this discrepancy may be resolved by developing the specialty of family practice.