Background and method
In Lebanon, primary care physicians (PCPs), including family doctors and GPs, are the main healthcare providers at the primary care level. The difference between the two is that GPs practice medicine directly after medical school without additional specialisation, while family physicians complete a family medicine residency before starting practice. PCPs have an essential role in counselling and providing health education, which are integral components of comprehensive care.
Health behaviour includes practices, actions, and habits that positively or negatively affect one’s health status.1 In Lebanon, there is a high prevalence of risky health behaviour. Among the adult population, 38.5% are smokers, 45.8% do not have adequate physical activity, 13.8% have hypertension, 5.9% have diabetes mellitus (DM), 38.0% are overweight, and 27.4% are obese.2
Studies have shown better counselling of patients when the doctors themselves have a healthy lifestyle.3–7 The issue of whether or not doctors themselves adopt positive health behaviour has been studied in some countries, with mixed results. However, no such studies were done in Lebanon or the Arab region.
This article presents the results of a preliminary study in Lebanon, which assesses the level of PCPs’ adherence to positive health behaviour, including the implementation of preventive recommendations.
A cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey was conducted among a convenience sample of 227 PCPs attending the Annual Lebanese Family Medicine Conference, held in Beirut in 2014. A 22-item-survey was used, with questions about physicians' demographics and adherence to different components of health behaviour, covering such topics as smoking status, exercise habits, cancer screening, and immunisation compliance.
Results
Sociodemographic characteristics
The response rate was …