TY - JOUR
T1 - Physicians' ability to influence the life-style behaviors of diabetic patients
T2 - Implications for social work
AU - Gross, Revital
AU - Tabenkin, Hava
AU - Heymann, Anthony
AU - Greenstein, Miriam
AU - Matzliach, Ronit
AU - Porath, Avi
AU - Porter, Basil
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was funded by the National Institute for Health Services and Health Policy Research and by the Myers-JDC-Brookdale Institute.
PY - 2007/4/5
Y1 - 2007/4/5
N2 - Diabetes is aggravated by a sedentary lifestyle, obesity and smoking. Based on a theoretical model relating attitudes and behavior, this study examined the association between physicians' self efficacy in counseling diabetic patients on life style behaviors and their counseling practices. Data were gathered from a representative sample of 743 primary care physicians in Israel's two largest health plans. The main findings were that only a small percentage of physicians felt capable of influencing their patients' life-style behaviors. Self-efficacy had an independent effect on the likelihood of counseling diabetic patients on life style behaviors, controlling for other background variables. We conclude that there is a need for enhancing physicians' life-style counseling skills, and that social workers could expand their role by training physicians to counsel effectively. This could both improve the care of diabetic patients, and strengthen the status of the social work profession in the healthcare system.
AB - Diabetes is aggravated by a sedentary lifestyle, obesity and smoking. Based on a theoretical model relating attitudes and behavior, this study examined the association between physicians' self efficacy in counseling diabetic patients on life style behaviors and their counseling practices. Data were gathered from a representative sample of 743 primary care physicians in Israel's two largest health plans. The main findings were that only a small percentage of physicians felt capable of influencing their patients' life-style behaviors. Self-efficacy had an independent effect on the likelihood of counseling diabetic patients on life style behaviors, controlling for other background variables. We conclude that there is a need for enhancing physicians' life-style counseling skills, and that social workers could expand their role by training physicians to counsel effectively. This could both improve the care of diabetic patients, and strengthen the status of the social work profession in the healthcare system.
KW - Counseling
KW - Diabetes
KW - Life style behaviors
KW - Primary care physicians
KW - Social workers
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84905790493&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1300/J010v44n03_05
DO - 10.1300/J010v44n03_05
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C2 - 17548275
AN - SCOPUS:84905790493
SN - 0098-1389
VL - 44
SP - 191
EP - 204
JO - Social Work in Health Care
JF - Social Work in Health Care
IS - 3
ER -
