After Hours Medical Care and Personal Safety Needs of Urban General Practitioners

Funded Activity Summary

Experiences of violence and aggression are widespread within the health care field. Episodes of violence and aggression against general practitioners (GPs) in their working environment are not uncommon. These incidents frequently go unreported and the toll they take on GPs, on a personal as well as a professional level, is unknown. The frequency and severity of violence experienced by some health professionals is extreme. Such experiences may undermine the confidence and commitment of GPs and may inevitably have detrimental effects on health care services. Studies in the UK indicate that violence against general practitioners is increasing, violence against GPs in rural areas of Australia is also increasing but there have been no comparable studies carried out in our major cities. This research aims to ask general practitioners working in a range of different urban areas around NSW to describe their experiences of dealing with violent and aggressive patients. The study will be the first of its kind in Australia to provide an important insight into the level of violent and aggressive behaviour GPs are subjected to in city areas. One of the key areas of concern that has been reported in medical journals and the general press has been an increase in attacks on GPs making house-calls, this project will therefore be particularly focussed on GPs who provide after hours care. This study is important so in order to find out exactly what the incidence of violence against our urban general practitioners is, what type of violence is actually occurring, where it is occurring, who the perpetrators are, and also what the longer term psychological effects of abuse against general practitioners may be. The findings from this study will be used by the Commonwealth Government and Health Departments to plan better ways of providing after hours medical care. The findings may also be used to educate GPs and medical students about safety in the workplace.

Funded Activity Details

Start Date: 01-01-2003

End Date: 01-01-2004

Funding Scheme: NHMRC Project Grants

Funding Amount: $73,250.00

Funder: National Health and Medical Research Council

Research Topics

ANZSRC Field of Research (FoR)

Primary Health Care

ANZSRC Socio-Economic Objective (SEO)

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Other Keywords

general practice | policy and interventions | primary health care | social health issues | social problems

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