Evidence map›Paper›PMID 24861550›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2014

Preventive health services implemented by family physicians in Portugal-a cross-sectional study based on two clinical scenarios.

Carlos Martins, Luís Filipe Azevedo, Cristina Santos, Luísa Sá, Paulo Santos, Maria Couto, Altamiro Pereira, Alberto Hespanhol

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2014. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
1.3field-weighted citation impact, top 14% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed, 6 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Trial
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Carlos MartinsFamily Medicine Unit, Social Sciences and Health Department of the Faculty of Medicine of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Luís Filipe AzevedoInformation Sciences and Decision on Health Department (CIDES), Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Research in Health Technologies and Information Systems (CINTESIS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Cristina SantosInformation Sciences and Decision on Health Department (CIDES), Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Research in Health Technologies and Information Systems (CINTESIS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Luísa SáFamily Medicine Unit, Social Sciences and Health Department of the Faculty of Medicine of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Paulo SantosFamily Medicine Unit, Social Sciences and Health Department of the Faculty of Medicine of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Maria CoutoFamily Medicine Unit, Social Sciences and Health Department of the Faculty of Medicine of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Altamiro PereiraInformation Sciences and Decision on Health Department (CIDES), Faculty of Medicine, Centre for Research in Health Technologies and Information Systems (CINTESIS), University of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Alberto HespanholFamily Medicine Unit, Social Sciences and Health Department of the Faculty of Medicine of Porto, Porto, Portugal.
Universidade do Porto · PTCentre for Health Technology and Services Research · PT

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectivesTo assess whether Portuguese family physicians perform preventive health services in accordance with scientific evidence, based on the recommendations of the United States Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF).

designCross-sectional study.

settingPrimary healthcare, Portuguese National Health Service.

participants255 Portuguese family physicians selected by a stratified cluster sampling design were invited to participate in a computer-assisted telephone survey. OUTCOMES: Prevalence of compliance with USPSTF recommendations for screening, given a male and female clinical scenario and a set of proposed medical interventions, including frequency of the intervention and performance in their own daily practice.

resultsA response rate of 95.7% was obtained (n=244). 98-100% of family physicians answered according to the USPSTF recommendations in most interventions. In the male scenario, the lowest concordance was observed in the evaluation of prostate-specific antigen with 37% of family physicians answering according to the USPSTF recommendations. In the female scenario, the lowest concordance was for cholesterol testing with 2% of family physicians complying. Family physicians younger than 50 years had significantly better compliance scores than older ones (mean 77% vs 72%; p<0.001).

conclusionsWe found a high degree of agreement with USPSTF recommendations among Portuguese family physicians. However, we also found results suggesting excessive use of some medical interventions, raising concerns related to possible harm associated with overdiagnosis and overtreatment.

Indexed as

Practice Patterns, Physicians'Preventive Health ServicesAdultAgedCross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedNational Health ProgramsPhysicians, FamilyPortugalPrimary Health CareRetrospective StudiesWorkforceYoung AdultPreventive MedicinePrimary Care

Identifiers

PMID24861550
PMCPMC4039810
OpenAlexW2133311687

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY-NC
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Registered trials

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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.