title: "What kind of general practitioner do I need for smoking cessation?" Results from a qualitative study in Poland.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Cigarette smoking remains the leading preventable cause of death and disease. Thus, all activities aiming to reduce smoking play an important role in improving population health. The positive role of the general practitioner (GP) in smoking cessation could increase the success rate for quitting smoking, if compared with unassisted cessation. The aim of this study was to determine what kind of general practitioner smokers need in order to stop smoking.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four focus groups with 12 current and 12 former smokers (aged 20-59, 11 women and 13 men), were arranged in the city of Toruń, Poland, with a view to describe their opinions on the GP's role in smoking cessation. The data were subjected to descriptive qualitative content analysis.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Two major themes emerged in the analysis: the smokers' positive and negative experiences of the GP in smoking cessation and their expectations regarding the role of the GP in smoking cessation. The first theme embraced the following subthemes: (1) GP's passivity, (2) routine questions about the patient's smoking during the visit, (3) lack of time during the visit, and (4) the role model of the GP in smoking cessation. Within the second theme, the respondents identified the following subthemes: (1) bringing up the topic of smoking cessation, even in situations when the patient is unprepared for this; (2) the necessity of a tailored approach to the patient; (3) access to information and evidence confirming the harms of smoking tobacco; (4) prescription of pharmacological and other treatment; and (5) referral to specialists in smoking cessation.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Patients expect their GP to actively participate in smoking cessation through a more tailored approach to the patient's needs. The patients' experiences did not match their expectations: the smokers rarely got advice on smoking cessation from their GPs. Finally, they emphasized the importance of the GP as a role model in smoking cessation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Medicine, Collegium Medicum, Nicolaus Copernicus University, Sklodowskiej-Curie 9, 85-094, Bydgoszcz Torun, Poland. buczkowskik@cm.umk.pl.
authors.forename: Krzysztof
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Buczkowski
authors.forename: Ludmila
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Marcinowicz
authors.forename: Slawomir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Czachowski
authors.forename: Elwira
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Piszczek
authors.forename: Agnieszka
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sowinska
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001294:Attitude to Health; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010819:Physician's Role; D010817:Physician-Patient Relations; D011044:Poland; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012907:Smoking / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D016540:Smoking Cessation / Q000379:methods / Q000523:psychology*; D061485:Tobacco Use Cessation Devices; D055815:Young Adult