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BMC Primary Care
Published in: BMC Primary Care 1/2017

Open Access 01-12-2017 | Research article

Association of general psychological factors with frequent attendance in primary care: a population-based cross-sectional observational study

Authors: André Hajek, Jens-Oliver Bock, Hans-Helmut König

Published in: BMC Primary Care | Issue 1/2017

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Abstract

Background

Whereas several studies have examined the association between frequent attendance in primary care and illness-specific psychological factors, little is known about the relation between frequent attendance and general psychological factors. Thus, the aim of this study was to investigate the association between being a frequent attender in primary care and general psychological factors.

Methods

Data were used from a large, population-based sample of community-dwelling individuals aged 40 and above in Germany in 2014 (n = 7,446). Positive and negative affect, life satisfaction, optimism, self-esteem, self-efficacy, and self-regulation were included as general psychological factors. The number of self-reported GP visits in the past twelve months was used to quantify frequency of attendance; individuals with more than 9 visits (highest decile) were defined as frequent attenders.

Results

Multiple logistic regressions showed that being a frequent attender was positively associated with less life satisfaction [OR: 0.79 (0.70–0.89)], higher negative affect [OR: 1.38 (1.17–1.62)], less self-efficacy [OR: 0.74 (0.63–0.86)], less self-esteem [OR: 0.65 (0.54–0.79)], less self-regulation [OR: 0.74 (0.60–0.91)], and higher perceived stress [OR: 1.46 (1.28–1.66)], after adjusting for sociodemographic factors, morbidity and lifestyle factors. However, frequent attendance was not significantly associated with positive affect and self-regulation.

Conclusions

The present study highlights the association between general psychological factors and frequent attendance. As frequent GP visits produce high health care costs and are potentially associated with increased referrals and use of secondary health care services, this knowledge might help to address these individuals with high needs.
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Metadata
Title
Association of general psychological factors with frequent attendance in primary care: a population-based cross-sectional observational study
Authors
André Hajek
Jens-Oliver Bock
Hans-Helmut König
Publication date
01-12-2017
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Primary Care / Issue 1/2017
Electronic ISSN: 2731-4553
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-017-0621-5

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