ArticleScandinavian journal of primary health care2025
General practitioners' clinical decision-making in patients that could have cancer: a vignette study comparing the Baltic states with four Nordic countries.
Article in Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.
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.
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.
Who cites it
1 citing paper in PubMed.
- Structural Inequalities in Ambulatory Care: A Scoping Review of Access and Quality and the Neglected Dimension of Patient Safety.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
11 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveRelative one-year cancer survival rates in the Baltic states are lower than the European mean; in the Nordic countries they are higher than the mean. This study investigated the likelihood of General Practitioners (GPs) investigating or referring patients with a low but significant risk of cancer in these two regions, and how this was affected by GP demographics.
designA survey of GPs using clinical vignettes.
settingGeneral Practice in Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, and Sweden. SUBJECTS: General Practitioners. OUTCOME MEASURES: A regional comparison of GPs' stated immediate diagnostic actions (whether or not they would perform a key diagnostic test and/or refer to a specialist) for patients with a low but significant risk of cancer (between 1.2 and 3.6%).
resultsOf the 427 GPs that completed the questionnaire, those in the Baltic states, and GPs that were more experienced, were more likely to arrange a key diagnostic test and/or refer their patient to a specialist than those in Nordic Countries or who were less experienced (
conclusionWhile relative one-year cancer survival rates are lower in the Baltic states than in four Nordic countries, we found no evidence that this is due to their GPs' reluctance to take immediate diagnostic action, as GPs in the Baltic states were more likely to investigate and/or refer at the first consultation. Research on patient and secondary care factors is needed to explain the survival differences.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What 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.