Table 4.
Associations between low impact consulters and high impact non-consulters and views on managing symptoms (age and sex adjusted odds ratios)
| Symptom management factors | Low impact consulters | High impact non-consulters | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Odds ratio (95% CI) | p-value | Odds ratio (95% CI) | p-value | |
|
Nijmegen Expectation Questionnaire ^ | ||||
| Quartile 1 (lowest scores)† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Quartile 2 | 1.75 (0.97 to 3.16) | 0.062 | 1.24 (0.93 to 1.66) | 0.139 |
| Quartile 3 | 2.29 (1.32 to 3.98) | 0.003 | 1.24 (0.93 to 1.64) | 0.142 |
| Quartile 4 (highest scores) | 2.78 (1.59 to 4.86) | < 0.001 | 1.51 (1.13 to 2.02) | 0.006 |
|
My previous experience of a symptom | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 1.02 (0.36 to 2.89) | 0.969 | 0.94 (0.53 to 1.68) | 0.845 |
|
Other people's experiences of a symptom | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 1.08 (0.75 to 1.54) | 0.684 | 1.14 (0.93 to 1.40) | 0.214 |
|
My knowledge/beliefs about a symptom | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 0.53 (0.27 to1.08) | 0.079 | 0.97 (0.59 to1.60) | 0.916 |
|
Feeling a symptom wouldn't be viewed as important by others | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 1.18 (0.83 to 1.69) | 0.350 | 1.34 (1.09 to 1.64) | 0.005 |
|
Feeling able to deal with a symptom myself | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 0.65 (0.29 to 1.47) | 0.304 | 0.96 (0.56 to 1.63) | 0.872 |
|
Feeling that I need reassurance or advice from a health professional | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 2.61 (1.39 to 4.91) | 0.003 | 1.09 (0.84 to 1.42) | 0.506 |
|
Feeling that I don't want to waste the GP's time | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 0.99 (0.66 to 1.50) | 0.976 | 1.60 (1.25 to 2.05) | < 0.001 |
|
My knowledge about healthcare services and medicines | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 1.53 (0.89 to 2.64) | 0.126 | 1.01 (0.77 to 1.32) | 0.963 |
|
My attitudes/beliefs about healthcare services and medicines | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 0.93 (0.62 to 1.38) | 0.705 | 1.11 (0.88 to 1.40) | 0.373 |
|
My previous experience of healthcare services and medicines | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 1.21 (0.76 to 1.92) | 0.429 | 1.35 (1.05 to 175) | 0.020 |
|
Other people's experiences of healthcare services and medicines | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 0.96 (0.67 to 1.37) | 0.815 | 1.37 (1.12 to 1.68) | 0.002 |
|
The cost of using a particular healthcare service or treatment | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 1.11 (0.78 to 1.57) | 0.576 | 1.16 (0.95 to 1.42) | 0.140 |
|
The length of time I have to wait to get treatment | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 1.03 (0.68 to 1.55) | 0.898 | 1.24 (0.98 to 1.58) | 0.076 |
|
Availability of resources like transport and childcare | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 0.87 (0.61 to 1.24) | 0.449 | 1.52 (1.24 to 1.86) | < 0.001 |
|
Information or advice appearing in the media | ||||
| Not important† | 1.00 | 1.00 | ||
| Important | 1.08 (0.76 to 1.53) | 0.671 | 0.99 (0.81 to 1.21) | 0.922 |
† Referent group
Figures highlighted are significant at 5% level (p < 0.05)
^ Where lower scores represent a belief that self-care is better than GP treatment for common symptoms and higher scores represent a belief that GP treatment is better than self-care for common symptoms