Background and Goal: Managing type 2 diabetes involves complex treatment, workload, and costs that impose a significant burden on individuals, impacting their physical and mental health. This study examines how general practitioners (GPs) in China identify and respond to these burdens during patient consultations.
Study Approach: The study examined video recordings of 29 GP-patient consultations recorded between 2018 and 2019 in a primary care clinic in China. Researchers reviewed these consultations for discussions related to treatment burdens in managing type 2 diabetes and analyzed the interviews to identify specific burdens and the strategies GPs employed to address them.
Main Results: A total of 29 GP-patient video consultations were examined. Analysis identified 77 interview sections that focused on discussions related to treatment burden.
The median length of the 29 video-recorded consultations was about 24 minutes.
In 37.66% of the segments, the GP initiated and responded to discussions about treatment burden while in 23.38%, the patient initiated the discussion, and the GP responded to it; In 38.96%, the patient initiated the discussion, but the GP did not respond.
Medication was the most frequently identified component of treatment burden by both patients and GPs, followed by personal resources, medical information, and administrative burdens.
Why It Matters: The findings from this study highlight the complexity of type 2 diabetes treatment burdens and emphasize the importance of tailored GP responses to improve patient engagement and reduce barriers to care.
Primary Care Physicians' Responses to Treatment Burden in People With Type 2 Diabetes: A Qualitative Video Analysis in China
Yongsong Chen, MD, PhD, et al
The First Affiliated Hospital of Shantou University Medical College, Shantou, China
