Physician discussion about social activities in primary care encounters with older adults.
OBJECTIVE
Involvement in social activities is linked to positive health outcomes. This study focused on the prevalence of social activity discussions during the primary care medical encounter, and examined how patient, physician, and contextual factors were associated with discussions between physicians and older patients.


METHODS
The research was a secondary analysis of 434 videotapes recorded during primary care medical visits between 1998 and 2000 in outpatient clinics. Recordings were coded to identify a number of variables related to patient, physician, and companion characteristics, physician discussion on various topics, and quality of the physician's interaction with the patient.


RESULTS
Physicians discussed social activity in only 31% of medical encounters. Variables significantly associated with social activity discussions included patient and physician race/ethnicity, physician age group, physician supportiveness, and the geographical site of the visit.


CONCLUSIONS
Results support the inclusion of discussion and counseling about social activities in medical encounters with older patients. Family physicians will likely experience improved patient satisfaction, and geriatric patients can potentially reap health benefits that improve both quality of life and medical outcomes. Additional research is needed to understand more fully the correlates and benefits of social activity discussion during the medical encounter.
Ory
Marcia
M
Department of Social and Behavioral Health, School of Rural Public Health, The Texas A&M University System Health Science Center, College Station, TX 77843-1266, USA. mory@srph.tamhsc.edu
Yuma
Paula J
PJ
Wade
Angie
A
Kaunas
Christine
C
Bramson
Rachel
R
D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015146:Midwestern United States; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011320:Primary Health Care; D012944:Social Support; D015206:Southwestern United States; D013383:Suburban Population; D014505:Urban Population; D014743:Videotape Recording; D044465:White People