[Hypercholesterolemia: attitude and practices of general practitioners in Laval]

We surveyed via a mailed questionnaire physicians' attitudes and practices with regard to the screening, treatment and follow-up of hypercholesterolemia. The study was conducted in 1990-91 on the 255 generalists practicing in Laval (a suburb of Montreal) and achieved a 63% response rate. The results indicated that general practitioners were open to screening and treating their hypercholesterolemic patients. Physicians, however, noted a certain number of obstacles which affected their educational and therapeutic practices. The findings suggest that greater attention needs to be paid to helping physicians develop skills with respect to nutrition counselling. Future efforts should be directed at finding ways of integrating educational activities into primary care medicine.