General practitioners' beliefs about effectiveness and intentions to prescribe smoking cessation medications: qualitative and quantitative studies
2006

General Practitioners' Beliefs About Smoking Cessation Medications

Sample size: 392 publication Evidence: moderate

Author Information

Author(s): Florian Vogt, Sue Hall, Theresa M Marteau

Primary Institution: King's College London

Hypothesis

What are general practitioners' beliefs about the effectiveness and safety of smoking cessation medications?

Conclusion

General practitioners have varying beliefs about the effectiveness and safety of smoking cessation medications, which influence their prescribing intentions.

Supporting Evidence

  • 79% of GPs agreed that NRT was effective.
  • Only 27% agreed that NRT was effective without behavioral support.
  • 64% of GPs expressed concern about the side effects of bupropion.

Takeaway

Doctors have different opinions about medicines that help people stop smoking, which affects whether they give these medicines to patients.

Methodology

Qualitative interviews with 25 GPs and a quantitative survey of 367 GPs.

Potential Biases

The sample was biased towards GPs who may have a more favorable view of evidence-based medicine.

Limitations

The sample may not represent all GPs, and the interviews were limited in depth due to time constraints.

Participant Demographics

25 GPs interviewed (10 female, 15 male, age range 27 to 60); 367 GPs surveyed, with a male bias.

Statistical Information

Confidence Interval

95% CI: .12 to .27

Statistical Significance

p<0.05

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1186/1471-2458-6-277

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