TY - JOUR
TI - Eliciting general practitioners' salient beliefs towards prescribing: A
qualitative study based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour in Greece
AU - Tsiantou, V.
AU - Shea, S.
AU - Martinez, L.
AU - Agius, D.
AU - Basak, O.
AU - and Faresjo, T.
AU - Moschandreas, J.
AU - Samoutis, G.
AU - Symvoulakis,
AU - E. K.
AU - Lionis, C.
JO - Journal of Clinical Pharmacy and Therapeutics
PY - 2013
VL - 38
TODO - 2
SP - 109-114
PB - Wiley
SN - null
TODO - 10.1111/jcpt.12037
TODO - focus groups; general practitioner; prescribing; primary health care;
theory of planned behaviour
TODO - What is known and Objective: Prescribing represents an important medical
action especially in primary care. However, irrational prescribing is
common and has an impact on clinical and economic outcomes. Therefore,
there is a growing need to rationalize prescribing. Knowledge of
influential factors is crucial for achieving this. The aim of the
present study was to identify the behavioural, normative and control
beliefs of GPs regarding prescribing in Greece.
Methods: Focus group sessions were conducted in three geographically
defined areas in Greece. GPs working in the private and public sector in
primary care settings were invited to participate. Transcripts from
focus groups were content analysed using the Theory of Planned Behaviour
(TPB) as the theoretical framework.
Results and Discussion: GPs acknowledged prescribing as the most
important method for treating diseases in primary health care, with
significant impact on patient’s health and quality of life. The
expectations of patients and their families were extremely influential
during prescribing. Pharmaceutical sales representatives, other GPs and
specialists, as well as public health authorities influenced
prescribing. GPs admitted that factors such as the income of the
patient, the limited time available and special situations such as
prescribing through a third person or prescribing following patients’
prescription requests for medicines that they have previously purchased
over the counter through pharmacies may facilitate or hinder their
prescribing decision.
What is new and Conclusion: This elicitation study shed light into GPs’
beliefs regarding prescribing. Factors that are not common in the usual
European setting were revealed, such as the influence of the patients’
family and special situations during prescribing. Thus, various issues
were highlighted that should inform the development of items for
inclusion in a forthcoming TPB-based questionnaire. The results of this
study revealed also certain issues that can affect the design of
policies aiming at the rationalization of prescribing.
ER -