General practitioners' approach to malingering in basic military training centres.
OBJECTIVE
Malingering can be defined as the abuse of the right to benefit from the health services. In this study, the frequency of the malingering cases in Basic Military Training Centres (BMTCs) and the behaviours and the attitudes of the military physicians towards the recruits who are suspected malingerers were described.


METHODS
A total of 17 general practitioners in nine different BMTCs in different regions of Turkey constitute the universe of this descriptive study. In the questionnaire, there were a total of 30 questions about the descriptive characteristics of the participants and their attitudes and behaviours towards malingering. Informed consent form and a questionnaire were applied through the intranet via participants' emails. In the study, 15 physicians were reached with a response rate of 88.2%.


RESULTS
All of the physicians suspected malingering in some of the soldiers who were examined. A total of 80% of the physicians (n=12) suspected malingering in at least 10% of the patients they examined. Only 13.3% of the physicians (n=2) had officially diagnosed a case of malingering in the last training period. All of the participants stated that they did not report the official decision for every soldier suspected of malingering. Instead of reporting official decision for malingering, the military physicians apply alternative procedures for suspected malingerers.


CONCLUSIONS
In countries where the military service is compulsory, prevalence of malingering is estimated to be higher (approximately 5-25%). The problem of malingering is often underestimated due to the fact it is usually overlooked. Malingering remains a problem for the entire military healthcare system, due to the difficulties in exact diagnosis. Therefore, it can be useful to take some practical administrative measures for the soldiers who are prone to malingering, in order to discourage the behaviour.
Primary Health Care Centre, Gendarmerie Training Battalion Command, Canakkale, Turkey.|Department of History of Medicine and Ethics, Canakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Faculty of Medicine, Canakkale, Turkey.
Alper Tunga
AT
Kokcu
Department of History of Medicine and Ethics, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Faculty of Military Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
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Kurt
D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D005260:Female; D058005:General Practitioners; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008306:Malingering / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D058749:Military Facilities; D008887:Military Medicine; D008889:Military Personnel; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians'; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014421:Turkey
GENERAL MEDICINE (see Internal Medicine); MEDICAL ETHICS; MEDICAL LAW