State and sports]

By 1874 the State had already started to influence physical activity programs especially of the younger generations in Switzerland. In 1970 the people accepted article 27 of the Constitution regarding physical education and sports. The Federal law that became effective in 1972 now promotes, in a more intensive way, physical education and sports as a means to improve the public health. These measures especially affect public sport (physical education at school, the "Youth and Sports" organization, the construction of sports facilities) whereas promotion of elite sports is entirely the responsibility of the independent sports association. Today, this promotion costs the Swiss government roughly 40 millions of Swiss francs, or 0.3% of the whole budget.     

Health risks of various sports]

Sport accidents have become a major problem. When investigating the risks corresponding to different sport activities, we must consider incidence, possible causes and different kinds of sport injuries too. The risks of sport injuries are not inherent to a given sport, but are more likely provoked by the athlete himself and his behaviour.     

Elite sports - benefit or damage]

Out of 378 elite athletes investigated in the year 1956, 28 track and field athletes, 14 footballers, 9 cyclists and 18 icehockey-players, who were complaining about serious injuries at the occasion of a sociological investigation, underwent a medical follow-up examination, 30 percent of the examined athletes stated that they suffered from permanent pain as a result of their former career in elite sports. On the other hand, they had a positive attitude about their previous physical activity and would not have missed it at all. Most of the injuries concerned joints (61) or bones (18) whereas other localisations were rather unusual. X-ray examination revealed a considerable number of orthrosis which most of the time, in spite of its sometimes rather grotesque appearance, did not cause the expectes subjective complaints.     

Sociological aspects of sports activities in adolescents]

The purpose of this study was to investigate the epidemiological, psychosocial and sociological aspects influencing the practice of physical activity of young people. Of approximately 1800 17 to 18 years old boys and girls going to an official school in Geneva, 600 were chosen at random. Unskilled workers could not be included into the study. 443 subjects could be contacted and interviewed in spring 1973 through a codified questionnaire. A first evaluation of the answers focused on the influences of sex, social status, type of sport practised, as well as the ideological integration. The results correlated well with current empiric experiences or with most of the hypothesis on which the questionnaire was based.     

Commentary: Physician Retirement and Physician Shortages

Considerable recent discussion has taken place regarding the predicted future shortage of physicians, especially in primary care. Much of the attention has focused on the difficulty of recruiting new physicians into primary care practice. It is suggested that part of the solution may be increased efforts to recruit and retain older physicians into primary care practice rather than retirement.     

Effects of Online Physician Reviews and Physician Gender on Perceptions of Physician Skills and Primary Care Physician (PCP) Selection

ABSTRACT

Physician review websites have become more relevant and important in people’s selection of physicians. The current study experimentally examined how online physician reviews endorsing a primary care physician’s (PCP’s) technical or interpersonal skills, along with a physician’s gender, may influence people’s perceptions of the physician’s skills and their willingness to choose the physician. Participants were randomly assigned to view a mockup physician review web page and to imagine that they needed to find a new PCP in a new city. They were then asked to report their perceptions of the physician and willingness to choose the physician as their PCP. The results suggested that people’s willingness to choose a PCP was affected by physician reviews through their influence on people’s perceptions of the PCP’s technical and interpersonal skills. More importantly, this study found that when physician reviews endorsed a PCP’s technical skills people perceived a female PCP to be more interpersonally competent than a male PCP and thus were more likely to choose the female PCP. The gendered perception, however, was not extended to a PCP’s technical skills. Practical implications for health providers and consumers are discussed.     

The Primary Physician: Generalist or Specialist? [Abridged]

Dr W W Yellowlees makes out a strong case against the creation of general practitioner 'specialoids'. He emphasizes the limitations of the specialists' organ-orientation, without the generalized knowledge of the patient as a person and of the influence of his environment on his illness.

Dr Paul Sadler takes another point of view and describes the successful division of his housing-estate practice into four specialist departments: pxediatrics, geriatrics, obstetrics and general medicine. He further details the organization and advantages of his own department, pediatrics.

     

Physician Trust Moderates the Internet Use and Physician Visit Relationship

Prior research found that Internet use for health information leads to more frequent physician visits. This study explores the conditions under which this effect works by examining whether trust in health information from health professionals plays a moderating role in the associations between Internet use and the frequency of physician visits. This study uses a two-wave panel dataset with a U.S. nationally representative sample gathered in 2005 and 2006. The results show that the effects of Internet use on physician visits are larger for those who have low levels of trust in both cross-sectional and panel analyses.     

Rural Community and Physician Perspectives on Resource Factors Affecting Physician Retention

This study was undertaken to investigate issues affecting recruitment and retention of physicians in a rural north Florida community. As part of this investigation, the authors examined the relevant context of medical care and physician practice for this community. The results identify a number of problems not uncommon in rural communities and supported by previous literature. Physicians felt isolated, dissatisfied with job security and professional autonomy, and frustrated by a lack of cooperation among the major providers of health care. More importantly, upon closer scrutiny, some of the most appealing characteristics of this community for incoming physicians become its weaknesses. Access to a regional medical center nearby and nearness to a metropolitan area were both cited as positive attributes to their choice of practice location. In this community, however, these appear to have resulted in a highly divided medical system. Many of the employed and insured patients in the county prefer to get their medical care in the nearby city. At the same time three separate entities within the community--a federally funded community health center, a county public health unit, and a community hospital--are expected to provide services for the poor and uninsured. The resulting lack of a comprehensive approach to provision of services contributes significantly to the dissatisfaction among providers and to their ultimate retention.     

Physician well-being and professionalism

Physician professionalism is influenced by both environmental and personal factors, one of which is physician well-being. Yet, a variety of stressors inherent in medical training and practice can erode a physician's sense of well-being and contribute to distress. This article reviews the epidemiology of physician distress; describes what is known about the relationships between distress, well-being, and professionalism; and discusses personal and environmental factors that contribute to professionalism among physicians.