BACKGROUND Firearm injury is the leading cause of injury-related death among youth and second leading cause of injury-related death overall in the United States. Our objective is to determine the impact of brief office counseling by family physicians on patients' firearm storage habits. METHODS Of the 1,233 patients who completed the enrollment questionnaire, 156 (13%) reported they had guns ...

BACKGROUND Social norms imparted by preceptors and the requirements necessary to pass American Board of Pediatrics' examinations are potentially important contributors to physician behavior. OBJECTIVE To explore the relationships between perceived professional norms regarding injury prevention and the injury prevention topics discussed, and counseling strategies employed, by pediatric residen...

OBJECTIVE To determine the incremental cost-effectiveness of the transdermal nicotine patch. DESIGN Decision analytic model that evaluated the incremental cost-effectiveness of the addition of the nicotine patch to smoking cessation counseling. Costs were based on physician time and the retail cost of the nicotine patch, and benefits were based on quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) saved. ...

BACKGROUND The incidence of weight gain is highest during young adulthood. Our study aims to describe weight gain patterns among young adults and to evaluate physician recognition of and counseling for rapid weight gain. METHODS This retrospective cohort study included patients ages 18-35 at an academic internal medicine clinic between 2004-2008. We conducted chart reviews to determine weight...

BACKGROUND Osteoporotic fracture is a growing public health problem burden to society. Despite the importance of physician practices in preventing it, relatively little is known about the osteoporosis-related practices of US physicians. METHODS A total of 1500 female members of a Connecticut independent practice association model health plan (aged 40-69 years) were surveyed to identify women'...

BACKGROUND Guidelines recommend that physicians screen all adults for obesity and offer an intensive counseling and behavioral interventions for weight loss for obese adults. Current trends of weight-related counseling are unknown in the setting of the US obesity epidemic. OBJECTIVES To describe primary care physician (PCP) weight-related counseling, comparing counseling rates in 1995-1996 an...

This study evaluated the process of recruiting women from a primary care physician network into a study of genetic counseling for breast cancer. It also investigated predictors of women's interest in participating in genetic counseling research. Women were recruited in three stages: (a) via an initial contact letter; (b) a telephone screening survey; and (c) a mailed baseline questionnaire. We ...

The physical health benefits of regular physical activity (PA) are well documented.1 Numerous articles in Canadian Family Physician have articulated the need to increase PA counseling for the management and prevention of physical illnesses.2-6 Evidence also indicates that PA is effective in the treatment and promotion of mental health.7,8 Given that family physicians are a preferred source of h...

BACKGROUND This study advances the use of a utility model to model physician-patient interactions from the perspectives of physicians and patients. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS In cases involving acute care, patient counseling involves a relatively straightforward transfer of information from the physician to a patient. The patient has less information than the physician on the impact the c...

CONTEXT Given the current context of racial disparities in health and health care and the historical context of eugenics, racial disparities in the use of genetic susceptibility testing have been widely anticipated. However, to our knowledge there are no published studies examining the magnitude and determinants of racial differences in the use of genetic susceptibility testing. OBJECTIVES To...