The health and health practices of doctors and their families

AIM: To determine how practising doctors care for themselves and their families. METHOD: A questionnaire was submitted to 500 randomly selected doctors, seeking information on attitudes to diet, alcohol, smoking, screening, immunisation, contraception, workload, stress and treatment of self and family. RESULTS: Many doctors claimed to have a family doctor but relatively few had regular assessments. Most doctors considered their health to be good but many claimed to be working under substantial stress. There is need for more information about the Doctors' Health Advisory Service. CONCLUSION: Doctors should pay more attention to their own health. A good case can be made for doctors having regular check-ups performed by a respected general practitioner colleague.