[Validity of recording preventive activities in medical histories: consumption and antismoking counseling].

OBJECTIVE

To compare the percentage of tobacco consumers obtained by checking Primary care clinical notes (PCCN) with the percentage obtained by a telephone poll of the same people. To compare the record of tobacco counselling in the PCCN with that discovered by polling.

DESIGN

Crossover and descriptive study.

SETTING

Two urban health districts.

PATIENTS

Random sample of 450 with PCCN and between 15 and 75 years-old.

MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS

A telephone questionnaire with data on tobacco consumption and smokers' perceptions of anti-tobacco counselling. Data obtained from checking the PCCN were: age, gender, basic care unit, number of attendances, pathologies and related risk factors, tobacco consumption and counselling. Tobacco consumption did not figure in 51% of the PCCN. Out of the 108 smokers identified by telephone polling, only 61 had this fact in their PCCN. 55 of these smokers said they had been counselled, which was only recorded on 11 occasions in the PCCN. The probability of receiving counselling increased when patient was over 45, when there were pathologies or related risk factors, with frequency of attendance and with each daily cigarette smoked.

CONCLUSIONS

The PCCN substantially under-record tobacco consumption and, especially, counselling. The smokers who receive most counselling are those have already, most probably, smoked for a long time.