Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36426593›Full record

ArticlePrimary health care research & development2022

What factors empower general practitioners for early cancer diagnosis? A 20-country European Delphi Study.

George Tzanis, Michael Harris, Mette Brekke, Mercè Marzo-Castillejo, Saliha Serap Cifcili, Wojciech Wawrzynek, Maria Flamm, Nicola Buono, Bernadett Márkus, Galia Zacay and 10 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Primary health care research & development, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. 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

20 authors.

George TzanisLaboratory of Primary Health Care, General Practice and Health Services Research, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.ORCID 0000-0002-7765-0154
Michael HarrisCollege of Medicine & Health, University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Mette BrekkeGeneral Practice Research Unit, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway.ORCID 0000-0003-3454-2329
Mercè Marzo-CastillejoCancer Research Group in Primary Health Care, Fundació Institut Universitari per a la Recerca a l'Atenció Primària de Salut Jordi Gol i Gurina (IDIAPJGol), Barcelona, Spain.ORCID 0000-0002-1201-3090
Saliha Serap CifciliFamily Medicine Department, School of Medicine, Marmara University, Istanbul, Turkey.
Wojciech WawrzynekThe Medical Centre, Roscommon, Ireland.ORCID 0000-0001-9786-8903
Maria FlammParacelsus Medical University; Institute of General Practice, Salzburg, Austria.ORCID 0000-0003-0816-6657
Nicola BuonoNational Society of Medical Education in General Practice (SNAMID), Caserta, Italy.ORCID 0000-0001-8797-477X
Bernadett MárkusDepartment of Family Medicine, Semmelweis University, Budapest, Hungary.ORCID 0000-0002-3880-5168
Galia ZacayDepartment of family medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, University of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel.ORCID 0000-0002-0722-7326
Ilze SkujaDepartment of Family Medicine, Riga Stradins University, Riga, Latvia.
Zlata Ozvacic AdzicSchool of Medicine, Department of Family Medicine, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia.ORCID 0000-0003-3524-6353
Mihai IacobEUVEKUS, Timis Society of Family Medicine, Timisoara, Romania.
Radost AsenovaDepartment of Urology and General Practice, Faculty of Medicine, Medical University of Plovdiv, Plovdiv, Bulgaria.
Davorina PetekDepartment of Family medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia.ORCID 0000-0002-0151-4463
Krzysztof BuczkowskiDepartment of Family Medicine, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Torun, Poland.ORCID 0000-0002-7700-0952
Pamela CurtisClose Farm Surgery, UK.
Liina Pilv-ToomInstitute of Family Medicine and Public Health, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.ORCID 0000-0003-1573-4376
Robert HoffmanDepartment of family medicine, Sackler Faculty of Medicine, University of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv, Israel.
Emmanouil SmyrnakisLaboratory of Primary Health Care, General Practice and Health Services Research, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.ORCID 0000-0002-9772-4595

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundSome symptoms are recognised as red flags for cancer, causing the General Practitioner (GP) to refer the patient for investigation without delay. However, many early symptoms of cancer are vague and unspecific, and in these cases, a delay in referral risks a diagnosis of cancer that is too late. Empowering GPs in their management of patients that may have cancer is likely to lead to more timely cancer diagnoses.

aimTo identify the factors that affect European GPs' empowerment in making an early diagnosis of cancer.

methodsThis was a Delphi study involving GPs in 20 European countries. We presented GPs with 52 statements representing factors that could empower GPs to increase the number of early cancer diagnoses. Over three Delphi rounds, we asked GPs to indicate the clinical relevance of each statement on a Likert scale.The final list of statements indicated those that were considered by consensus to be the most relevant.

resultsIn total, 53 GPs from 20 European countries completed the Delphi process, out of the 68 GPs who completed round one. Twelve statements satisfied the pre-defined criteria for relevance. Five of the statements related to screening and four to the primary/secondary care interface. The other selected statements concerned information technology (IT) and GPs' working conditions. Statements relating to training, skills and working efficiency were not considered priority areas.

conclusionGPs consider that system factors relating to screening, the primary-secondary care interface, IT and their working conditions are key to enhancing their empowerment in patients that could have cancer. These findings provide the basis for seeking actions and policies that will support GPs in their efforts to achieve timely cancer diagnosis.

Indexed as

General PractitionersNeoplasmsDelphi TechniqueEarly Detection of CancerHumansSecondary Health CarecancerDelphi methodempowermentgeneral practitionersPrimary Health Care

Identifiers

PMID36426593
PMCPMC9706379

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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.