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General Practitioners as Agents of Health Risk Behaviour Change: Opportunities for Behavioural Science in Patient Smoking Cessation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2014

John H. Wiggers  and
Rob Sanson-Fisher
John H. Wiggers*
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle
Rob Sanson-Fisher*
Affiliation:
University of Newcastle
*
The Secretary, Discipline of Behavioural Science in Relation to Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Newcastle, Locked Bag No 10, Wallsend NSW 2287, Australia
The Secretary, Discipline of Behavioural Science in Relation to Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Newcastle, Locked Bag No 10, Wallsend NSW 2287, Australia
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Abstract

General practitioners have been suggested as occupying a position in the community that offers considerable potential for reducing the prevalence of health risk behaviours. Green, Eriksen, and Schor (1988) have proposed that if general practitioners are to effectively adopt a role in modifying patient health risk behaviours, a number of prerequisite conditions must be met. Using the model proposed by Green et al., this paper reviews the literature to describe the circumstances under which general practitioners currently practise this role. The review focuses on the circumstances relating to practitioner modification of one patient health risk behaviour: smoking. Research detailing the extent of practitioner involvement in the modification of this risk behaviour is also reviewed. The paper concludes by discussing the opportunities available for behavioural scientists to facilitate general practitioners' adoption of a role in patient smoking cessation.

Type
Research Article
Information
Behaviour Change , Volume 11 , Issue 3 , September 1994 , pp. 167 - 176
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1994

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References

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