La Medicina de Familia y Comunitaria que tiene que venir

Vivimos en un momento de gran trasformación social, en un contexto de una profunda crisis económica que ha mermado, dificultado, modificado o como quieran ustedes llamarle, el devenir de la Sanidad en nuestro país. Una Sanidad que tradicionalmente, a efectos fundamentalmente de gestión, se ha disgregado en Atención Especializada y Atención Primaria. Todavía hoy en día este concepto implica de manera consciente o inconsciente la percepción, cuarenta años más tarde del inicio del sistema MIR, de que la Atención Especializada es únicamente la Hospitalaria, y que la Atención Primaria es muy importante, fundamentalmente como puerta de entrada al sistema. Reconocemos que odiamos ese sambenito de “portera” con que se identifica a la Atención Primaria. Pero en cualquier caso, hay un claro sesgo que se perpetúa a lo largo de los años entre los “especialistas” y los que no lo son: los “médicos de familia”. Un aspecto sin duda mejorable, a los que vamos a añadir unos cuantos más. Intencionadamente hemos omitido, como en tantísimas ocasiones hacemos todos, el segundo apellido de nuestra Especialidad “y Comunitaria”. Son tantas las omisiones que ya incluso se está perdiendo el primer apellido de “Familia” y se está trasladando la nomenclatura, ya cada vez más generalizada con el acrónimo MAP: Médico de Atención Primaria. ..

Variability of the prevalence of depression in function of sociodemographic and environmental factors: ecological model

Major depression etiopathogenesis is related to a wide variety of genetics, demographic and psychosocial factors, as well as to environmental factors. The objective of this study is to analyze sociodemographic and environmental variables that are related to the prevalence of depression through correlation analysis and to develop a regression model that explains the behavior of this disease from an ecological perspective. This is an ecological, retrospective, cross-sectional study. The target population was 1,148,430 individuals over the age of 16 who were registered in Aragon (Spain) during 2010, with electronic medical records in the community’s primary health care centers. The spatial unit was the Basic Health Area (BHA). The dependent variable was the diagnosis of Depression and the ecological independent variables were: Demographic variables (gender and age), population distribution, typology of the entity, population structure by sex and age, by nationality, by education, by work, by salary, by marital status, structure of the household by number of members, and state of the buildings. The results show moderate and positive correlations with higher rates of depression in areas having a higher femininity index, higher population density, areas with a higher unemployment rate and higher average salary. The results of the linear regression show that aging +75 and rural entities act as protective factors for depression, while urban areas and deficient buildings act as risk factors. In conclusion, the ecological methodology may be a useful tool which, together with the statistical epidemiological analysis, can help in the political decision making process

Analysis of depressive episodes, their recurrence and pharmacologic treatment in primary care patients: A retrospective descriptive study

Background: Depression is one of the most prevalent health problems, frequently being a medium- and long-term condition, with a high comorbidity rate and with frequent relapses and recurrences. Although numerous studies have compared the effectiveness of specific antidepressant therapy drugs and have assessed relapses, scientific evidence on the relationship between pharmacologic treatments and recurrence is scarce. The objective of this study is to describe depressive episodes in a primary care patient cohort, the percentage of depression recurrences and the administered pharmacologic treatment, from a naturalistic perspective. Methods: Retrospective descriptive study. 957 subjects were included. The dependent variable was a depression diagnosis and independent variables were: gender, age at time of data collection; age of onset, first-episode treatment, number of recurrences, age at recurrences, treatment prescribed for recurrences using therapeutic groups categorization. Results: Recurrences are frequent, affecting more than 40% of the population. In the first episode, 13.69% of the patients were not prescribed pharmacological treatment, but this percentage decreased over the following depression episodes. 80.9% of the patients who did not receive drug treatment in the first depression episode did not experience subsequent episodes. Monotherapy, and specifically, SSRIs were the most frequently prescribed treatment option for all depressive episodes. Regards the combined pharmacologic treatment, the most frequent drug combinations were SSRIs and benzodiazepines. Limitations In order to increase the power of results, the statistical analysis was performed using therapeutic groups categorization, not individually analyzing each drug and dose. Conclusions: Depressive episode recurrence is frequent in primary care patients. Further studies having a prospective design are needed in order to expand on this issue

Mental Health Patients' Expectations about the Non-Medical Care They Receive in Primary Care: A Cross-Sectional Descriptive Study

A health system's responsiveness is the result of patient expectations for the non-medical care they receive. The objective of this study was to assess mental patients' responsiveness to the health system in primary care, as related to the domains of dignity, autonomy, confidentiality, and communication. Data were collected from 215 people over the age of 18 with mental disorders, using the Multi-Country Survey Study (MCSS) developed by the World Health Organization. Of them, 95% reported a good experience regarding the dignity, confidentiality, communication, and autonomy domains. Regarding responsiveness, patients valued the dignity domain as the most important one (25.1%). Among the patients who experienced poor confidentiality, five out of seven earned less than 900 euros per month (X-2 = 10.8, p = 0.004). Among those who experienced good autonomy, 85 out of 156 belonged to the working social class (90.4%), and among those who valued it as poor (16.1%), the highest proportion was for middle class people (X-2 = 13.1, p = 0.028). The two students and 87.5% of retirees experienced this dimension as good, and most patients who valued it as poor were unemployed (43.5%) (X-2 = 13.0, p = 0.011). Patients with a household income higher than 900 euros more frequently valued responsiveness as good, regarding those domains related to communication, with OR = 3.84, 95% CI = 1.05-14.09, and confidentiality, with OR = 10.48, 95% CI = 1.94-56.59. To conclude, as regards responsiveness in primary care, the dignity domain always obtained the best scores by people with mental disorders. Low economic income is related to a poor assessment of confidentiality. Working class patients, students, and retirees value autonomy as good

Aplicabilidad de las herramientas de ayuda a la toma de decisiones compartidas en los servicios de Urgencias: una revisión exploratoria

Fundamentos: Las herramientas de ayuda en la toma de decisiones (HATD) han sido muy utilizadas en las enfermedades crónicas, pero existen pocos estudios sobre su utilidad en los servicios de urgencias. El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la utilización de las HATD en los servicios de urgencias. Métodos: Se realizó una revisión exploratoria. Se realizaron búsquedas de ensayos clínicos aleatorizados y controlados, revisiones sistemáticas y otros estudios se-cundarios donde se utilizaran las HATD para la asistencia a pacientes de cualquier edad en los servicios de urgen-cias, entre el 1 de enero de 2012 y el 1 de agosto de 2019. Dos revisores examinaron y seleccionaron los estudios. Se utilizaron las siguientes bases de datos: Pubmed, Embase, Web Of Science, Cuiden, Patient Decision Aids Research Group IPDAS Collaboration, Cochrane, Centres for Reviews and Dissemination, National Guideline Clearinghouse, Guidelines International Network. Resultados: Se incluyeron doce estudios, de calidad metodológica moderada-baja. Los pacientes del Grupo de Intervención (GI) tenían mayor conocimiento de la enfer-medad (?=3, 6 frente a 3 preguntas correctas y ?=4, 2 frente a 3, 6) y más implicación en las decisiones (puntuación en OPTION: 26, 6 contra 7 y 18, 3 contra 7). El conflicto se redujo en el GI en las decisiones sobre pruebas de imagen en el traumatismo craneoencefálico (TCE) (?=14, 8 frente a 19, 2). En el GI era menos frecuente el ingreso para realizar una prueba de esfuerzo en casos de dolor torácico de bajo riesgo (58% contra 77%; IC95%=6%-31%, y 37% contra 52%; p<0, 001). Cuando se utilizaba una HATD en niños con diarrea o vómitos, en el 80% la decisión era seguir una rehidratación oral frente al 61% en el GC (p=0, 001). Conclusiones: Las HATD en los servicios de urgen-cias mejoran el conocimiento de los pacientes sobre la en-fermedad y la participación en los cuidados. Se necesitan más estudios para desarrollar HATD en los servicios de urgencias. Background: Decision aid tools (DAT) have been widely used in chronic diseases, but there are few studies on their usefulness in emergency departments. The objective of this study was to analyse the applicability of DAT in emergency services. Methods: An exploratory review was conducted. Between January 1, 2012 and August 1, 2019, searches of randomised and controlled clinical trials, systematic reviews and other secondary studies where DAT are used to assist patients of any age in emergency services were conducted. The databases used were: Pubmed, Embase, Web Of Science, Cuiden, Patient Decision Aids Research Group IPDAS Collaboration, Cochrane, Centres for Reviews and Dissemination, National Guideline Clearinghouse, Guidelines International Network. Two reviewers analysed and selected the studies. Results: Twelve studies of moderate-low quality were included. The patients in the intervention group (IG) were more aware of their illness ((X) over bar =3.6 vs 3 correct answers and (X) over bar =4.2 vs 3.6), and more involved in the decisions (score in OPTION: 26.6 vs 7 and 18.3 vs 7). The conflict was reduced in the IG regarding those imaging tests in the TBI (traumatic brain injury; (X) over bar =14.8 vs 19.2). In the IG, admittance to perform effort tests was reduced in low-risk chest pain (58% vs 77%; CI95%=6%-31%, 37% vs 52%; p<0.001). When DAT were used in children with diarrhoea or vomiting, in 80% of the cases the decision was to use oral rehydration against 61% in the control group (CG, p=0.001). Conclusions: DAT in emergency services improve patient''s knowledge about the disease and their participation in care. More studies are needed to develop DAT in emergency services

Factors related to the development of health-promoting community activities in Spanish primary healthcare: two case-control studies.

Objective Spanish primary healthcare teams have the responsibility of performing health-promoting community activities (CAs), although such activities are not widespread. Our aim was to identify the factors related to participation in those activities. Design Two case–control studies. setting Performed in primary care of ve Spanish regions. subjects In the rst study, cases were teams that performed health-promoting CAs and controls were those that did not. In the second study (on case teams from the rst study), cases were professionals who developed these activities and controls were those who did not. Main outcome measures Team, professional and community characteristics collected through questionnaires (team managers/professionals) and from secondary sources. results The rst study examined 203 teams (103 cases, 100 controls). Adjusted factors associated with performing CAs were percentage of nurses (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.14), community socioeconomic status (higher vs lower OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.18 to 3.95) and performing undergraduate training (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.93). In the second study, 597 professionals responded (254 cases, 343 controls). Adjusted factors were professional classi cation (physicians do fewer activities than nurses and social workers do more), training in CAs (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.1), team support (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.5 to 5.7), seniority (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.09), nursing tutor (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.5), motivation (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.8 to 7.5), collaboration with non-governmental organisations (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.1) and participation in neighbourhood activities (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.9 to 5.1). Conclusions Professional personal characteristics, such as social sensitivity, profession, to feel team support or motivation, have in uence in performing health-promoting CAs. In contrast to the opinion expressed by many professionals, workload is not related to performance of health-promoting CAs

External validation of multidimensional prognostic indices (ADO, BODEx and DOSE) in a primary care international cohort (PROEPOC/COPD cohort)

Background: Due to the heterogeneous and systemic nature of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), the new guidelines are oriented toward individualized attention. Multidimensional scales could facilitate its proper clinical and prognostic assessment, but not all of them were validated in an international primary care cohort, different from the original ones used for model development. Therefore, our main aim is to assess the prognostic capacity of the ADO, BODEx and DOSE indices in primary care for predicting mortality in COPD patients and to validate the models obtained in subgroups of patients, classified by revised Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease (2011) and updated Spanish Guideline (2014). Besides, we want to confirm that the prognostic capacity of all indices increases if the number of exacerbations is substituted by the interval between them and to assess the impact on health of the patient''s lifestyle, social network and adherence to treatment. Methods: Design: External validation of scales, open and prospective cohort study in primary care. Setting: 36 health centres in 6 European high, medium and low income countries. Subjects: 477 patients diagnosed with COPD, captured in clinical visit by their General Practitioner/Nurse. Predictors: Detailed patient history, exacerbations, lung function test and questionnaires at baseline. Outcomes: Exacerbations, all-cause mortality and specific mortality, within 5 years of recruitment. Analysis: Multivariate logistic regression and Cox regression will be used. Possible non-linear effect of the indices will be studied by using Structured Additive Regression models with penalised splines. Subsequently, we will assess different aspects of the regression models: discrimination, calibration and diagnostic precision. Clinical variables modulated in primary care and the interval between exacerbations will be considered and incorporated into the analysis. Discussion: The Research Agenda for General Practice/Family Medicine highlights that the evidence on predictive values of prognostic indices in primary care is scarce. A prospective cohort like that of PROEPOC/COPD provides good opportunities for research into COPD and make communication easier between family practitioners, nursing staff, pneumologists and other professionals, supporting a multi-disciplinary approach to the treatment of these patients. Trial registration:ISRCTN52402811. Date: 15/01/2015. Prospectively registered

Gender differences in the incidence of depression among immigrants and natives in Aragon, Spain

Knowledge of depression among immigrants within Spanish primary care is limited. This database study investigates the incidence of depressive disorders among immigrants and natives within primary care in Aragon (Spain). Participants were patients registered in an electronic record register, aged above 20 years diagnosed with depression. Incidence of depression was calculated and compared per continent of origin, gender and age with the Mann-Whitney U test and the Kruskal-Wallis test. The population consisted of 11,088 patients with depression of whom 93.0 % natives and 7.0 % immigrants. Incidence of depression amongst male immigrants was lower than amongst male natives (OR 0.80). Eastern European males showed the lowest incidence 4.1 (3.5-5.3). The gender difference in incidence was larger in immigrants than in natives (OR 3.4 vs. 2.7). Due to male immigrants the incidence of depression within primary care is lower among immigrants. Equal care should be provided to patients of both genders and all origin

Factors related to the development of health-promoting community activities in Spanish primary healthcare: two case-control studies

Abstract Objective Spanish primary healthcare teams have the responsibility of performing health-promoting community activities (CAs), although such activities are not widespread. Our aim was to identify the factors related to participation in those activities. Design Two case-control studies. Setting Performed in primary care of five Spanish regions. Subjects In the first study, cases were teams that performed health-promoting CAs and controls were those that did not. In the second study (on case teams from the first study), cases were professionals who developed these activities and controls were those who did not. Main outcome measures Team, professional and community characteristics collected through questionnaires (team managers/professionals) and from secondary sources. Results The first study examined 203 teams (103 cases, 100 ontrols). Adjusted factors associated with performing CAs were percentage of nurses (OR 1.07, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.14), community socioeconomic status (higher vs lower OR 2.16, 95% CI 1.18 to 3.95) and performing undergraduate training (OR 0.44, 95% CI 0.21 to 0.93). In the second study, 597 professionals responded (254 cases, 343 controls). Adjusted factors were professional classification (physicians do fewer activities than nurses and social workers do more), training in CAs (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.1), team support (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.5 to 5.7), seniority (OR 1.06, 95% CI 1.03 to 1.09), nursing tutor (OR 2.0, 95% CI 1.1 to 3.5), motivation (OR 3.7, 95% CI 1.8 to 7.5), collaboration with non-governmental organisations (OR 1.9, 95% CI 1.2 to 3.1) and participation in neighbourhood activities (OR 3.1, 95% CI 1.9 to 5.1). Conclusions Professional personal characteristics, such as social sensitivity, profession, to feel team support or motivation, have influence in performing health-promoting CAs. In contrast to the opinion expressed by many professionals, workload is not related to performance of health-promoting CAs