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- Title
Healthcare needs, experiences and treatment burden in primary care patients with multimorbidity: An evaluation of process of care from patients' perspectives.
- Authors
Hu, Xiu‐Jing; Wang, Harry H. X.; Li, Yu‐Ting; Wu, Xiao‐Ya; Wang, Yi; Chen, Jia‐Heng; Wang, Jia‐Ji; Wong, Samuel Y. S.; Mercer, Stewart W.
- Abstract
Background: Patients with multimorbidity often experience treatment burden as a result of fragmented, specialist‐driven healthcare. The 'family doctor team' is an emerging service model in China to address the increasing need for high‐quality routine primary care. Objective: This study aimed to explore the extent to which treatment burden was associated with healthcare needs and patients' experiences. Methods: Multisite surveys were conducted in primary care facilities in Guangdong province, southern China. Interviewer‐administered questionnaires were used to collect data from patients (N = 2160) who had ≥2 clinically diagnosed long‐term conditions (multimorbidity) and had ≥1 clinical encounter in the past 12 months since enrolment registration with the family doctor team. Patients' experiences and treatment burden were measured using a previously validated Chinese version of the Primary Care Assessment Tool (PCAT) and the Treatment Burden Questionnaire, respectively. Results: The mean age of the patients was 61.4 years, and slightly over half were females. Patients who had a family doctor team as the primary source of care reported significantly higher PCAT scores (mean difference 7.2 points, p <.001) and lower treatment burden scores (mean difference −6.4 points, p <.001) when compared to those who often bypassed primary care. Greater healthcare needs were significantly correlated with increased treatment burden (β‐coefficient 1.965, p <.001), whilst better patients' experiences were associated with lower treatment burden (β‐coefficient −0.252, p <.001) after adjusting for confounders. Conclusion: The inverse association between patients' experiences and treatment burden supports the importance of primary care in managing patients with multimorbidity. Patient Contribution: Primary care service users were involved in the instrument development and data collection.
- Subjects
CHINA; WELL-being; EVALUATION of medical care; RESEARCH; RESEARCH evaluation; CONFIDENCE intervals; CROSS-sectional method; COMMUNITY health services; EXPERIENCE; PATIENTS' attitudes; FUNCTIONAL assessment; PRIMARY health care; SURVEYS; T-test (Statistics); HEALTH attitudes; QUESTIONNAIRES; RESEARCH funding; DESCRIPTIVE statistics; CHI-squared test; QUALITY of life; STATISTICAL correlation; DATA analysis software; MEDICAL needs assessment; COMORBIDITY; EVALUATION
- Publication
Health Expectations, 2022, Vol 25, Issue 1, p203
- ISSN
1369-6513
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1111/hex.13363