Risk communication between general practitioners and patients with hypercholesterolemia

 

Purpose: It is important that the general practitioners (GPs) are able to intervene to reduce risk of disease. One of the key points in doing so is effective risk communication that decreases uncertainty about choice of treatment and gives the patients a greater understanding of benefits and risks of different options.

The aim of this PhD-study is to make a model for training GPs in risk communication and to evaluate in a randomized intervention, how training GPs, using the model, affects the patients level of cholesterol, adherence to treatment, number of contacts to health services, and psychological well-being. 

 

Methods: 40 GPs receive training in risk communication. Each GP selects 7 patients with elevated cholesterol. These patients are informed about the opportunity to receive preventive pharmacological treatment.

Another 280 patients receive the same opportunity from 40 GPs without training in risk communication. We will send out questionnaires to the patients at 3, 6 and 12 months.

 

Results: We expect the patients in the intervention group to lower their cholesterol, show a better adherence to treatment and reduce their contacts to health services without worsening their psychological well-being.

 

Conclusion: This randomised intervention study will produce new knowledge about the effect of training GPs in risk communication.