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BMC Primary Care
Published in: BMC Primary Care 1/2015

Open Access 01-12-2015 | Research article

Reasons for encounter in young people consulting a family doctor in the French speaking part of Switzerland: a cross sectional study

Authors: Anne Meynard, Barbara Broers, Danièle Lefebvre, Françoise Narring, Dagmar M. Haller

Published in: BMC Primary Care | Issue 1/2015

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Abstract

Background

Knowledge of patient’s reasons for encounter is useful to inform health service planning and health professional education. Our aim was to describe reasons for encounter as stated by an unselected group of young people attending primary care practices in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.

Methods

Consecutive patients aged between 15 and 24 years were recruited as part of the PRISM-Ado trial (n = 594). They completed an anonymous questionnaire in the waiting room, including their main reason for encounter (free text). Reasons for encounter were coded using ICPC-2 classification and analyzed according to sex, age and living in a rural or urban area.

Results

95 % of questionnaires contained valid data about reasons for encounter (n = 567). General and unspecific (A) reasons were the most common in boys (44 %) and girls (42 %), followed by respiratory, musculoskeletal, dermatological and psychological reasons. Psychological reasons were more frequent in girls attending urban practices; musculoskeletal and dermatological reasons were more frequent in rural areas. Sexually transmitted infections or substance use were very rarely stated as a reason for encounter.

Conclusions

This is the first study describing reasons for encounter as stated by young people themselves in primary care in Switzerland. These findings provide useful guidance for family doctors training and health service planning in Europe.

Trial registration

Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12608000432​314.
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Metadata
Title
Reasons for encounter in young people consulting a family doctor in the French speaking part of Switzerland: a cross sectional study
Authors
Anne Meynard
Barbara Broers
Danièle Lefebvre
Françoise Narring
Dagmar M. Haller
Publication date
01-12-2015
Publisher
BioMed Central
Published in
BMC Primary Care / Issue 1/2015
Electronic ISSN: 2731-4553
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-015-0375-x

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