Research Unit of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark, J.B. Winsløws Vej 9A, Odense C, 5000, Denmark.
The Research Unit for General Practice and Section of General Practice, Department of Public Health, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
BMC Prim Care. 2023 Jan 17;24(1):17. doi: 10.1186/s12875-023-01971-4.
On 1 January 2018 a four-year test scheme concerning use of medicinal cannabis (MC) was enacted. It has recently been extended for four more years by the Danish Parliament permitting all Danish physicians to prescribe MC to their patients. Previous studies have shown that general practitioners (GPs) have varying prescription experience, little knowledge, and mixed attitudes about MC. However, the present evidence is still limited, and no studies exist about Danish GPs' prescription experience, knowledge, and attitudes towards MC. Therefore, our aim was to examine Danish GPs' prescription experience, knowledge, and attitudes towards MC.
A national online survey-based study addressing Danish GPs was performed from September 2018 to July 2019. We performed separate multivariable logistic regression analyses including GPs' prescription experience, knowledge, and attitudes towards MC as outcome variables.
A total of 427 (38.4%) of 1112 GPs completed the questionnaire. Of these, 37 (8.7%) had experience in prescribing MC. The majority had little or no knowledge about MC (80.6%) as well as a negative view on prescription of MC (71.4%) to patients. Factors associated with prescribing MC to patients were: Single-handed practices (OR = 1.6, 95% CI 1.1;1.8) and perception of having quite some knowledge about MC (OR = 4.8, 95% CI 2.2;10.4). Factors associated with having quite some knowledge about MC were: having a positive attitude towards prescribing MC (OR = 5.2, 95% CI 1.9;14.0), being male (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.4;1.8), and being at least 60 years of age (OR = 2.8, 95% CI 1.3;6.0). Factors associated with having a positive attitude towards prescribing MC were: having quite some knowledge about MC (OR = 5.2, 95% CI 2.2;12.5) and GPs being male (OR = 1.7, 95% CI 1.1;1.9).
In this first study on prescription experience, knowledge, and attitudes about MC among Danish GPs, conducted one year after the Danish test scheme was enacted, we find a very low proportion of prescribers, little knowledge, and an overall negative attitude towards MC. Among the prescribing GPs, four in ten have little to no knowledge and a negative attitude towards MC. We stress that prescribing patterns, knowledge, and attitudes may change throughout the remaining time of the test scheme.
2018 年 1 月 1 日，丹麦实施了一项为期四年的药用大麻（MC）使用测试计划。最近，丹麦议会将其延长了四年，允许所有丹麦医生为患者开 MC 处方。此前的研究表明，全科医生（GP）在 MC 的使用方面经验不同，知识有限，态度也不一致。然而，目前的证据仍然有限，没有关于丹麦全科医生对 MC 的使用经验、知识和态度的研究。因此，我们的目的是研究丹麦全科医生对 MC 的使用经验、知识和态度。
我们从 2018 年 9 月至 2019 年 7 月对丹麦全科医生进行了一项全国性的在线调查研究。我们分别进行了多变量逻辑回归分析，将 GP 对 MC 的使用经验、知识和态度作为因变量。
共有 1112 名全科医生中的 427 名（38.4%）完成了问卷。其中，37 名（8.7%）有开具 MC 处方的经验。大多数医生对 MC 知之甚少或一无所知（80.6%），对给患者开 MC 处方的看法也很消极（71.4%）。与给患者开 MC 处方相关的因素包括：个体执业（OR=1.6，95%CI 1.1；1.8）和对 MC 有一定了解的认知（OR=4.8，95%CI 2.2；10.4）。与对 MC 有一定了解相关的因素包括：对 MC 处方有积极的态度（OR=5.2，95%CI 1.9；14.0）、男性（OR=1.7，95%CI 1.4；1.8）和年龄至少 60 岁（OR=2.8，95%CI 1.3；6.0）。与对 MC 处方持积极态度相关的因素包括：对 MC 有一定的了解（OR=5.2，95%CI 2.2；12.5）和男性全科医生（OR=1.7，95%CI 1.1；1.9）。与对 MC 处方持积极态度相关的因素包括：对 MC 有一定的了解（OR=5.2，95%CI 2.2；12.5）和男性全科医生（OR=1.7，95%CI 1.1；1.9）。
在这项针对丹麦全科医生使用 MC 的经验、知识和态度进行的首次研究中，我们发现，在丹麦测试计划实施一年后，开处方的医生比例非常低，知识有限，对 MC 的总体态度消极。在开处方的医生中，十分之四的人对 MC 知之甚少，态度消极。我们强调，在测试计划的剩余时间内，开处方模式、知识和态度可能会发生变化。
