SynthesisThe British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners2008
Doctors as patients: a systematic review of doctors' health access and the barriers they experience.
Synthesis in The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 2008. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 74 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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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
74 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Endoscopy-Related Musculoskeletal Injuries: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on Prevalence, Risk Factors and Prevention.United European gastroenterology journal · 2025Pooled it
- What is the impact of long-term COVID-19 on workers in healthcare settings? A rapid systematic review of current evidence.PloS one · 2024Pooled it
- Healthcare Professionals' Own Experiences of Domestic Violence and Abuse: A Meta-Analysis of Prevalence and Systematic Review of Risk Markers and Consequences.Trauma, violence & abuse · 2023Pooled it
- Returning to clinical work and doctors' personal, social and organisational needs: a systematic review.BMJ open · 2022Pooled it
- Association Between Physician Depressive Symptoms and Medical Errors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.JAMA network open · 2019Pooled it
- Feasibility of computer-generated telephonic message-based follow-up system among healthcare workers with diabetes: a randomized controlled trial.BMJ open diabetes research & care · 2020Trial
- A qualitative study exploring patient and healthcare practitioner perspectives about at-home fetal Doppler devices.npj women's health · 2026Article
- Navigating the unseen: An aneurysm striking neurosurgeon.Journal of cerebrovascular and endovascular neurosurgery · 2025Article
- Doctors as research participants - what is in it for them? A qualitative study of international medical graduates.BMC medical education · 2025Article
- Managing Professional Stress is Every Doctor's Business.Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology of India · 2025Article
- Health and social care use, costs, and satisfaction among key workers accessing Resilience Hub support during the COVID-19 pandemic.BMC health services research · 2025Article
- Navigating the Boundaries of Health and Identity: Medical Students' Perspectives.The clinical teacher · 2025Article
- Harmful dimensions of medical culture in relation to physician burnout: A cross-sectional study.PLOS mental health · 2025Article
- 'I just felt either I'm going to kill someone or I'm going to end up killing myself'. How does it feel to be burnt out as a practicing UK GP?The European journal of general practice · 2024Article
- "Do they think I'm good enough?": General practitioners' experiences when treating doctor-patients.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- 'Do I cry or just carry on?' A story completion study of healthcare professionals' anticipated responses to experiencing chest pain.Journal of health psychology · 2024Article
- GP's GP, general practitioner's health and willingness to contract family doctors in China: a national cross-sectional study.BMC primary care · 2024Article
- Article
- Health Care Utilization and Self-Treatment by Primary Care Physicians and Specialist Physicians.Deutsches Arzteblatt international · 2023Article
- Are doctors using more preventive medication for cardiovascular disease? A Swedish cross-sectional study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2023Article
14 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.
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Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe need to improve doctors' access to health care by reducing the barriers they experience has been regularly described in the literature, yet the barriers experienced are not well defined, despite the volume of expert opinion in this area.
aimTo define what is known about doctors' access to health care from the data within the current literature. DESIGN OF STUDY: A systematic review of studies of doctors' health access.
methodA systematic search of MEDLINE and CINAHL, supplemented by citation searches and searches of the grey literature, identified both quantitative and qualitative studies. Two reviewers used specific criteria for inclusion of studies and quality assessment. The data were tabulated and analysed.
resultsTwenty-six articles met the inclusion criteria. The paucity of data and the overall poor quality of those data are highlighted. Despite this, many doctors appear to have a GP, but this does not ensure adequate health access. Systemic barriers to healthcare access (long hours and cultural issues) are more significant than individual barriers.
conclusionExpert opinion in this field is supported by poor-quality data. The current knowledge reveals important similarities between doctors and the general population in their healthcare access, especially with mental health issues. Understanding this may help the medical profession to respond to these issues of 'doctors' health' more effectively.
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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.