PHYSICIANS USEFULNESS RATINGS OF FAMILY-ORIENTED CLINICAL TOOLS

Background. Family-oriented patient care is a cornerstone of family pr actice. Family practice educators have proposed various methods to hel p the physician to better assess and treat families. Little is known, however, of the usefulness of family-oriented clinical tools to practi cing physicians. Methods. On a mailed survey questionnaire, 595 member s of the Wisconsin Academy of Family Physicians were asked to rate the usefulness of 10 family-oriented tools and indicate the frequency of use and level of training received for each item. In addition, physici ans rated their current and desired level of competency for involving families in patient care. Results. Two hundred ninety-nine (50%) physi cians responded. Most of the tools were rated as useful but used infre quently. Identifying the effects of chemical dependency on the health of families and conducting family conferences were rated as highly use ful and frequently used skills. Clinical tools rated as least useful w ere record keeping by family charts and folders and family function as sessment by the Family APGAR. Physicians who had received training in the use of a tool rated it as more useful, except for the Family APGAR and family charts or folders. Physicians with busier practices rated some of the tools as less useful than did other physicians. Respondent s indicated a desire to develop their family counseling skills. Conclu sions. Most family-oriented tools were reported to be useful but used infrequently by practicing physicians. Residency programs should conti nue to provide training for assessing and treating families, particula rly in the areas of family systems theory, self-awareness of the physi cian's own family background, and the effect of chemical dependency on families. Future research should target larger and more varied groups of family physicians.