Cardiovascular risk detection and intervention in general practice: the patients' views.

OBJECTIVE

To assess patients' views on the organization of (cardiovascular) preventive care.

DESIGN

Prospective questionnaire survey with measurements shortly after risk assessment (T1) and after 1 year of risk intervention (T2).

SETTING

Twenty-seven general practices participating in a project to enhance systematic cardiovascular disease prevention in two regions in The Netherlands.

STUDY PARTICIPANTS

Two-hundred and ninety-eight successive patients aged 30-60 years identified with an elevated cardiovascular risk.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Organizational aspects such as the acceptability of the care provider, practicality of special clinics, accessibility of the practice for routine care.

RESULTS

Most of the respondents (74%) had no preference for a care provider in cardiovascular preventive care and only a few patients (3%) reported having little confidence in the expertise of the practice assistant to provide such care. The vast majority (88%) considered special preventive clinics to be practical, especially at T1. Most of the respondents (76%) did not report a decline in the accessibility of their practice for routine care. These outcome measures were not affected by age, sex, educational level or the number of risk factors measured during 1 year of risk intervention.

CONCLUSION

Most patients did not have any major objections against the organization of preventive care through opportunistic case finding and risk monitoring in special preventive clinics managed by the practice assistant.