DO GENERAL-PRACTITIONERS WANT GUIDELINES - ATTITUDES TOWARD A COUNTY-BASED AND A NATIONAL COLLEGE-BASED APPROACH

Objective - We carried out two studies (a and b) to assess general pra ctitioners' attitudes towards a) regionally developed guidelines and b ) guidelines developed by the Danish College of General Practitioners. Design - a) A randomized study among all GPs in Aarhus county compari ng their attitudes towards guidelines in general and towards regional multidisciplinary developed guidelines on Pap-testing for cervical can cer, and b) a survey among all Danish GPs on attitudes towards earlier submitted guidelines for diabetes Type 2. Setting - GPs in Aarhus cou nty and in all Denmark. Subjects - a) Questionnaires sent to 370 docto rs in Aarhus county, and b) to 3471 GPs in all Denmark. Main outcome m easures - a) Attitudes to the known Pap guidelines compared with gener al attitudes. Themes in question were acceptance of guidelines, accept ance of multidisciplinary involvement, especially from the administrat ive staff, perceived effect on the consultation and the quality of car e. In study b) remembrance of receiving, having read and used previous guidelines. Wishes with respect to future updates. Results - a) GPs w ere very positive towards the Pap guidelines they knew, and only few r esisted. The number of positive answers was significantly fewer when d octors were asked about guidelines in general. b) There was an overwhe lmingly positive attitude towards guidelines from the College on diabe tes care and other topics relevant to GP work. Conclusion - Danish GPs reported a very positive attitude towards the presented well-known gu idelines on Pap testing and diabetes Type 2, and a fairly positive att itude towards hypothetical questions on guidelines in general.