Swedish general practitioners' practice behaviour in hypertension care

Abstract

Objective - To examine care organization and practice behaviour in hypertension care among Swedish general practitioners. Design - A postal questionnaire followed by a structured interview, in a two-step study design. Setting - Uppsala-Örebro region in mid-Sweden (population 1.9 mill.) Participants - General practitioners employed by counties, according to a register maintained by the Swedish Medical Association (N=489). Main outcome measure - Practice behaviour score compared with a gold standard. Results - 392 general practitioners returned the questionnaire, and the interview was accomplished with 222 of 232 who agreed to participate. Non-responder studies were carried out in both steps. Every fifth GP had access to a special hypertension clinic at their health centre, and 29% had specially trained nurses for hypertension care. 31% reported use of written guidelines. 47% declared they accepted higher BP-levels than recommended, although 78% agreed with official guidelines. The mean practice behaviour score was 8,77 (range 5-12, maximum score 12). Conclusion - Although a majority of GPs agree with official guidelines, there is a considerable variation in care organization and practice behaviour in hypertension care. © 1993 Informa UK Ltd All rights reserved: reproduction in whole or part not permitted.