Abstract
Background Primary prevention of CVD is a key UK health strategy; its success depends on individuals with high risk becoming motivated to adopt a scientifically valid risk reduction strategy. This is assumed to be the automatic outcome of risk assessments by much of the literature, yet little is known about whether or how this happens in practice.
Aim This qualitative study sought to explore professionals’ experience of discussing CVD risk with patients.
Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 20 primary care staff, including GPs, practice nurses and allied health professionals. Interview transcripts underwent thematic analysis using an inductive approach.
Results Professionals’ descriptions of patient responses to high risk status fell along a spectrum from full engagement with risk reduction to overt non-engagement. Erroneous lay beliefs regarding CVD risk are reportedly common and influential. Expert norms of individual agency regarding health and the future are often not shared by those in disadvantaged circumstances.
Conclusion Negotiating a shared risk reduction agenda is often a long-term process shaped by specific clinician-patient relationships and wider social contexts. An accessible resource which examines common lay beliefs and scientific evidence could help improve health literacy and uptake of risk reduction strategies. The impact of environmental and social factors on health-related behaviour deserves greater attention.
- © British Journal of General Practice 2018