Mediation effects of attitudes on the generational and gender influence on Swiss General Practitioners’ home visits: a cross-sectional study
BACKGROUND: In family medicine, home visits are a tangible manifestation of patient-centred care, allowing physicians to comprehensively understand patients’ circumstances and cater to their medical and psychosocial needs. However, a recent decline in general practitioner home visits has raised sig...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
SMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW)
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Swiss Medical Weekly |
| Online Access: | https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/4039 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849688991826182144 |
|---|---|
| author | Serena Petrocchi Qianfeng Lu Luca Gabutti Sandro Bonetti Mjriam Rodella Sapia Franco Denti Mario Bianchetti Peter Schulz |
| author_facet | Serena Petrocchi Qianfeng Lu Luca Gabutti Sandro Bonetti Mjriam Rodella Sapia Franco Denti Mario Bianchetti Peter Schulz |
| author_sort | Serena Petrocchi |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description |
BACKGROUND: In family medicine, home visits are a tangible manifestation of patient-centred care, allowing physicians to comprehensively understand patients’ circumstances and cater to their medical and psychosocial needs. However, a recent decline in general practitioner home visits has raised significant concerns about the potential impact on care quality, particularly for older patients. General practitioners’ age, gender and attitudes may play a role. Attitudes refer to positive or negative thinking or feelings about something typically reflected in a person’s behaviour.
AIMS: To study the effects of age and gender (i.e. predictors) on the number of home visits conducted during a typical week of work (i.e. outcome) by general practitioners in Canton Ticino, Switzerland. To investigate whether attitudes (i.e. mediators) mediate the relationship between age and home visits, controlling for gender.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to October 2023 on 142 family doctors (28% women) with an average age of 56.42 years (standard deviation [SD] = 11.51, range 36–83). Correlations between variables and a t-test with gender were conducted. A mediation analysis was performed to examine the potential association in which the attitudes may mediate the relationship between age and home visits, controlling for gender.
RESULTS: Older physicians conducted more home visits in a typical week (r = 0.32, p <0.001) than younger physicians, while female doctors conducted fewer visits (M = 2.39±1.8) than males (M = 4.09±2.9), t(100.8) = 3.77, p <0.001. The mediation analysis suggested that younger general practitioners tend to have more negative attitudes towards home visits, which in turn leads to a decrease in the number of home visits they make in a typical week (indirect effect B = 0.02).
CONCLUSION: There is a generational and gender effect on home visit practice in family medicine. Moreover, younger doctors hold more negative attitudes towards home visits.
|
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-4e4266cdd4af41a3a82ae68dcd4d6201 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1424-3997 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | SMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Swiss Medical Weekly |
| spelling | doaj-art-4e4266cdd4af41a3a82ae68dcd4d62012025-08-20T03:21:47ZengSMW supporting association (Trägerverein Swiss Medical Weekly SMW)Swiss Medical Weekly1424-39972025-05-01155510.57187/s.4039Mediation effects of attitudes on the generational and gender influence on Swiss General Practitioners’ home visits: a cross-sectional studySerena Petrocchi0Qianfeng Lu1Luca Gabutti2Sandro Bonetti3Mjriam Rodella Sapia4Franco Denti5Mario BianchettiPeter Schulz6Università della Svizzera italiana, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Family MedicineFaculty of Communication, Culture and Society Università della Svizzera italiana, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Family MedicineUniversità della Svizzera italiana, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Family MedicineUniversità della Svizzera italiana, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Institute of Family MedicineOrdine dei Medici Canton TicinoUniversità della Svizzera italiana BACKGROUND: In family medicine, home visits are a tangible manifestation of patient-centred care, allowing physicians to comprehensively understand patients’ circumstances and cater to their medical and psychosocial needs. However, a recent decline in general practitioner home visits has raised significant concerns about the potential impact on care quality, particularly for older patients. General practitioners’ age, gender and attitudes may play a role. Attitudes refer to positive or negative thinking or feelings about something typically reflected in a person’s behaviour. AIMS: To study the effects of age and gender (i.e. predictors) on the number of home visits conducted during a typical week of work (i.e. outcome) by general practitioners in Canton Ticino, Switzerland. To investigate whether attitudes (i.e. mediators) mediate the relationship between age and home visits, controlling for gender. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from June to October 2023 on 142 family doctors (28% women) with an average age of 56.42 years (standard deviation [SD] = 11.51, range 36–83). Correlations between variables and a t-test with gender were conducted. A mediation analysis was performed to examine the potential association in which the attitudes may mediate the relationship between age and home visits, controlling for gender. RESULTS: Older physicians conducted more home visits in a typical week (r = 0.32, p <0.001) than younger physicians, while female doctors conducted fewer visits (M = 2.39±1.8) than males (M = 4.09±2.9), t(100.8) = 3.77, p <0.001. The mediation analysis suggested that younger general practitioners tend to have more negative attitudes towards home visits, which in turn leads to a decrease in the number of home visits they make in a typical week (indirect effect B = 0.02). CONCLUSION: There is a generational and gender effect on home visit practice in family medicine. Moreover, younger doctors hold more negative attitudes towards home visits. https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/4039 |
| spellingShingle | Serena Petrocchi Qianfeng Lu Luca Gabutti Sandro Bonetti Mjriam Rodella Sapia Franco Denti Mario Bianchetti Peter Schulz Mediation effects of attitudes on the generational and gender influence on Swiss General Practitioners’ home visits: a cross-sectional study Swiss Medical Weekly |
| title | Mediation effects of attitudes on the generational and gender influence on Swiss General Practitioners’ home visits: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full | Mediation effects of attitudes on the generational and gender influence on Swiss General Practitioners’ home visits: a cross-sectional study |
| title_fullStr | Mediation effects of attitudes on the generational and gender influence on Swiss General Practitioners’ home visits: a cross-sectional study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mediation effects of attitudes on the generational and gender influence on Swiss General Practitioners’ home visits: a cross-sectional study |
| title_short | Mediation effects of attitudes on the generational and gender influence on Swiss General Practitioners’ home visits: a cross-sectional study |
| title_sort | mediation effects of attitudes on the generational and gender influence on swiss general practitioners home visits a cross sectional study |
| url | https://smw.ch/index.php/smw/article/view/4039 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT serenapetrocchi mediationeffectsofattitudesonthegenerationalandgenderinfluenceonswissgeneralpractitionershomevisitsacrosssectionalstudy AT qianfenglu mediationeffectsofattitudesonthegenerationalandgenderinfluenceonswissgeneralpractitionershomevisitsacrosssectionalstudy AT lucagabutti mediationeffectsofattitudesonthegenerationalandgenderinfluenceonswissgeneralpractitionershomevisitsacrosssectionalstudy AT sandrobonetti mediationeffectsofattitudesonthegenerationalandgenderinfluenceonswissgeneralpractitionershomevisitsacrosssectionalstudy AT mjriamrodellasapia mediationeffectsofattitudesonthegenerationalandgenderinfluenceonswissgeneralpractitionershomevisitsacrosssectionalstudy AT francodenti mediationeffectsofattitudesonthegenerationalandgenderinfluenceonswissgeneralpractitionershomevisitsacrosssectionalstudy AT mariobianchetti mediationeffectsofattitudesonthegenerationalandgenderinfluenceonswissgeneralpractitionershomevisitsacrosssectionalstudy AT peterschulz mediationeffectsofattitudesonthegenerationalandgenderinfluenceonswissgeneralpractitionershomevisitsacrosssectionalstudy |