ArticleThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2002
Continuity of care in general practice: a survey of patients' views.
Article in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2002. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 51 papers.
What it found
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
51 citing papers in PubMed.
- Optimising personal continuity for older patients in general practice: a cluster randomised stepped wedge pragmatic trial.BMJ open · 2024Trial
- Does it matter whether the recipient of patient questionnaires in general practice is the general practitioner or an independent researcher? The REPLY randomised trial.BMC medical research methodology · 2008Trial
- Patient perceptions of relational continuity in England: insights from two cross-sectional surveys.BJGP open · 2025Article
- How do patients perceive the retirement of their general practitioner? A qualitative interview study in France.BMJ open · 2024Article
- Article
- Patient experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study in Dutch primary care.BJGP open · 2022Article
- More than a feeling? What does compassion in healthcare 'look like' to patients?Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2022Article
- Continuity of care, measurement and association with hospital admission and mortality: a registry-based longitudinal cohort study.BMJ open · 2021Article
- Making complex decisions in uncertain times: experiences of Dutch GPs as gatekeepers regarding hospital referrals during COVID-19-a qualitative study.BMC medical ethics · 2021Article
- Optimising personal continuity for older patients in general practice: a study protocol for a cluster randomised stepped wedge pragmatic trial.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Article
- General Practice in the Time of COVID-19: A Mixed-Methods Service Evaluation of a Primary Care COVID-19 Service.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2021Article
- Analysing the preferences for family doctor contract services in rural China: a study using a discrete choice experiment.BMC family practice · 2020Article
- Patients' experiences and preferences for primary care delivery: a focus group analysis.Primary health care research & development · 2019Article
- Part-time relationships.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2018Article
- Patient perspectives on continuity of care: adaption and preliminary psychometric assessment of a Norwegian version of the Nijmegen Continuity Questionnaire (NCQ-N).BMC health services research · 2017Article
- Involving patients with multimorbidity in service planning: perspectives on continuity and care coordination.Journal of comorbidity · 2016Article
- Innovation or rebranding, acute care surgery diffusion will continue.The Journal of surgical research · 2015Article
- Importance of healthcare utilization and multimorbidity level in choosing a primary care provider in Sweden.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2014Article
- Exploring the dimensions of doctor-patient relationship in clinical practice in hospital settings.International journal of health policy and management · 2014Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundIt is not known how patients value continuity for different health problems. In addition, it is not clear how different types of patients value continuity. It has been argued, for example, that young and healthy individuals have different ideas about continuity from older people with chronic illnesses. More extensive exploration of patients' views and expectations on personal continuity is important as this may help to organise general practice better in the future.
aimTo explore patients' views on continuity of care in general practice and their relations to patient characteristics. DESIGN OF STUDY: Postal questionnaire survey.
settingThirty-five general practices throughout The Netherlands.
methodA sample of 25 patients from each practice was sent a questionnaire.
resultsThe response rate was 644/875 (74%). The percentage of patients feeling that it was important to see their personal doctor varied, from 21% for a splinter in the eye, to 96% for discussing the future when seriousy ill. The main reasons for preference of their own general practitioners (GPs) were the GP's assumed better medical knowledge of the patient and understanding of the personal and family background. Multiple linear regression analysis (GLM) showed that patient characteristics could explain 10% to 12% of the variance in these views on personal continuity.
conclusionThe importance that patients attach to continuity of care depends on the seriousness of the conditions/facing them. Patients in The Netherlands desire a high level of personal care for serious conditions. Patient characteristics, such as age, sex, and frequency of visits to the GP influence views on continuity of care only to a minor extent.
Indexed as
Identifiers
12051209PMC1314320What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.