Olla Qadi1, Nakawala Lufumpa1, Nicola Adderley2, Danai Bem3, Tom Marshall4, Farina Kokab5. 1. PhD student, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. 2. Lecturer in Health Informatics and Epidemiology, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK n.j.adderley@bham.ac.uk. 3. Honorary Research Fellow, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. 4. Professor of Public Health & Primary Care, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK. 5. Research Fellow, Institute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Statins and antihypertensive agents are recommended for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but they are not always prescribed to eligible patients. DESIGN & SETTING: A systematic review of qualitative studies. AIM: To explore health professionals' and patients' attitudes towards cardiovascular preventive drugs. METHOD: MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL, ASSIA, HMIC, Conference Proceedings Citation Index, and Open Grey were searched for studies of qualitative design without restrictions on date or language. Two reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, quality assessment, and thematic synthesis. RESULTS: In total, 2585 titles and abstracts were screened, yielding 27 studies, of which five met eligibility criteria on full text assessment. These included 62 patients and 47 health professionals. Five themes emerged about patient attitudes: questioning preventive drugs; perceived benefit and risks, such as improving quality of life; patient preferences; trust in health professional judgement; and family, friends, and media influences. Five themes emerged about health professional attitudes: addressing patient concerns and information; duty as a health professional to prescribe; uncertainty about preventive drug prescribing; recognising consequences of prescribing, such as unnecessary medicalisation; and personalised treatment. CONCLUSION: The attitudes of patients and health professionals regarding drug initiation for primary prevention reflect the complexity of the patient-health professional encounter in primary practice. For prescribing to be more adherent to guidelines, research should further investigate the patient-health professional relationship and the appropriate communication methods required when discussing drug initiation, specifically for primary prevention.
BACKGROUND: Statins and antihypertensive agents are recommended for primary prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD), but they are not always prescribed to eligible patients. DESIGN & SETTING: A systematic review of qualitative studies. AIM: To explore health professionals' and patients' attitudes towards cardiovascular preventive drugs. METHOD: MEDLINE, Embase, PsychINFO, CINAHL, ASSIA, HMIC, Conference Proceedings Citation Index, and Open Grey were searched for studies of qualitative design without restrictions on date or language. Two reviewers performed study selection, data extraction, quality assessment, and thematic synthesis. RESULTS: In total, 2585 titles and abstracts were screened, yielding 27 studies, of which five met eligibility criteria on full text assessment. These included 62 patients and 47 health professionals. Five themes emerged about patient attitudes: questioning preventive drugs; perceived benefit and risks, such as improving quality of life; patient preferences; trust in health professional judgement; and family, friends, and media influences. Five themes emerged about health professional attitudes: addressing patient concerns and information; duty as a health professional to prescribe; uncertainty about preventive drug prescribing; recognising consequences of prescribing, such as unnecessary medicalisation; and personalised treatment. CONCLUSION: The attitudes of patients and health professionals regarding drug initiation for primary prevention reflect the complexity of the patient-health professional encounter in primary practice. For prescribing to be more adherent to guidelines, research should further investigate the patient-health professional relationship and the appropriate communication methods required when discussing drug initiation, specifically for primary prevention.
Authors: Fiona Taylor; Mark D Huffman; Ana Filipa Macedo; Theresa H M Moore; Margaret Burke; George Davey Smith; Kirsten Ward; Shah Ebrahim Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2013-01-31
Authors: Satnam K Virdee; Sheila M Greenfield; Kate Fletcher; Richard J McManus; Jonathan Mant Journal: Br J Gen Pract Date: 2015-06-15 Impact factor: 5.386