Author/Editor		Petek-Šter, Marija; Kersnik, Janko
Title		Knowledge and acceptance of hypertension guidelines in clinical practice: experience from Slovenia
Type		članek
Source		Wien Klin Wochenschr
Vol. and No.		Letnik 117, št. 15-16
Publication year		2005
Volume		str. 534-40
Language		eng
Abstract		Summary. Background: Arterial hypertension, which is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease, is mainly treated by general practitioners. The initial step in an optimal therapeutic strategy for patients with arterial hypertension is the recognition and acceptance of hypertension guidelines by the physicians themselves. Aims: To find out how well Slovene general practitioners know the current hypertension guidelines and to what extent they accept them. Participants and methods: Knowledge of current recommendations in hypertension diagnosis, treatment, follow-up and special indications was assessed in 813 general practitioners in Slovenia using a questionnaire. The Slovene National Guidelines were taken as the reference standard. Adequate knowledge of the guidelines' recommendations was defined as correct answers to at least seven out of eleven items; the correct answers had to include the appropriate target blood pressure, the elements of the "minimal diagnostic program" in hypertension and the correct estimation of cardiovascular risk. Acceptance of the guidelines was estimated on a fivegrade scale: 5 meaning very useful, 1 meaning useless. Results: A total of 321 questionnaires were suitable for analysis from 327 that were returned (a response rate of 40.2%). The mean number of correct answers was 7.8 (SD 1.8, range 4-11), but only 124 (38.8%) of the participating physicians answered the three key questions correctly. The physicians who answered the key questions correctly also answered more of the other questions correctly (6.1 vs. 5.4, p<0.001). (Abstract truncated at 2000 characters)
Descriptors		HYPERTENSION PRIMARY HEALTH CARE PRACTICE GUIDELINES QUESTIONNAIRES SLOVENIA