ArticleScandinavian journal of primary health care2010
Attachment in the doctor-patient relationship in general practice: a qualitative study.
Article in Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 2010. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 34 papers.
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Who cites it
34 citing papers in PubMed.
- Optimising personal continuity for older patients in general practice: a cluster randomised stepped wedge pragmatic trial.BMJ open · 2024Trial
- Using general practitioners to recruit individuals with low socioeconomic position to preventive health checks is feasible: a cross sectional study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2019Trial
- Perceptions on use of home telemonitoring in patients with long term conditions - concordance with the Health Information Technology Acceptance Model: a qualitative collective case study.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2017Trial
- Optimising personal continuity in general practice: process evaluation of a toolkit.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Care in the era of digital health: experiences from Norwegian general practitioners.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2025Article
- Toward a universal definition of provider-patient attachment in primary care.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2024Review
- "I do not know the advantages of having a general practitioner" - a qualitative study exploring the views of low-acuity emergency patients without a regular general practitioner toward primary care.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- A qualitative study on patients' and health care professionals' perspectives regarding care delivered during CIED operation.BMC health services research · 2024Article
- Where the joy comes from: a qualitative exploration of deep GP-patient relationships.BMC primary care · 2023Article
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- Optimising personal continuity for older patients in general practice: a study protocol for a cluster randomised stepped wedge pragmatic trial.BMC family practice · 2021Article
- Why does continuity of care with family doctors matter? Review and qualitative synthesis of patient and physician perspectives.Canadian family physician Medecin de famille canadien · 2021Review
- Health behaviour among bilingual Swedish speaking patients in the Finnish healthcare setting.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2020Article
- What role does the GP play for emergency department utilizers? A qualitative exploration of respiratory patients' perspectives in Berlin, Germany.BMC family practice · 2020Article
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- 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
- Association between continuity of care in Swedish primary care and emergency services utilisation: a population-based cross-sectional study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2017Article
- General practitioners' accounts of how to facilitate consultations with toddlers - an interview study.Scandinavian journal of primary health care · 2017Article
- The patient, the doctor, and the patient's loyalty: a qualitative study in French general practice.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2016Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo explore why interpersonal continuity with a regular doctor is valuable to patients. DESIGN, SETTING, AND SUBJECTS: A qualitative study based on 22 interviews with patients, 12 who saw their regular general practitioner (GP) and 10 who saw an unfamiliar GP. The patients were selected after an observed consultation and sampled purposively according to reason for encounter, age, and sex. The research question was answered by means of psychological theory.
resultsA need for attachment was a central issue for the understanding of the value of interpersonal continuity for patients. The patients explained that they preferred to create a personal relationship with their GP and the majority expressed a degree of vulnerability in the doctor-patient relationship. The more sick or worried they were the more vulnerable and the more in need of a regular GP. Furthermore, patients stated that it was difficult for them to change GP even if they had a poor relationship.
conclusionAttachment theory may provide an explanation for patients' need to see a regular GP. The vulnerability of being a patient creates a need for attachment to a caregiver. This need is fundamental and is activated in adults when they are sick or scared.
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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.