@article {O{\textquoteright}Cathainbjgpopen20X101024, author = {Alicia O{\textquoteright}Cathain and Rebecca Simpson and Miranda Phillips and Jon M Dickson}, title = {Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study}, volume = {4}, number = {2}, elocation-id = {bjgpopen20X101024}, year = {2020}, doi = {10.3399/bjgpopen20X101024}, publisher = {Royal College of General Practitioners}, abstract = {Background Demand for general practice in the UK is higher than supply. Some patients seek appointments with GPs for minor illnesses rather than self-care.Aim To identify the characteristics of people with a tendency to contact GPs rather than self-care.Design \& setting A national survey of the British adult population was undertaken in 2018, which included vignettes.Method Two vignettes focused on illness in adults: half of responders completed a vignette about cough and sore throat for 3 days, and the other half completed a vignette about diarrhoea and vomiting for 2 days. Logistic regression was undertaken to identify characteristics associated with contacting GPs compared with dealing with the problem themselves, calling NHS 111, or contacting another service, including a pharmacist.Results The response rate was 42\%, with 2906 responders. Responders were twice as likely to select {\textquoteleft}contact GP{\textquoteright} for the diarrhoea and vomiting vignette than for the cough and sore throat vignette (44.7\% versus 21.8\%). Factors associated with tendency for GP contact included being aged \>75 years (odds ratio [OR] 2.0, 95\% confidence interval [CI] = 1.2 to 3.2); from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities (OR 2.1, 95\% CI = 1.5 to 3.0); feeling overwhelmed by unexpected health problems (OR 1.4, 95\% CI = 0.99 to 2.1); lower health literacy (OR 1.2, 95\% CI = 1.0 to 1.4); and believing that general practice is not overused (OR 1.3, 95\% CI = 1.1 to 1.7).Conclusion Type of symptom, personal characteristics, and population beliefs about general practice utilisation explain the tendency to contact GPs for minor illness amenable to self-care.}, URL = {https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/2/bjgpopen20X101024}, eprint = {https://bjgpopen.org/content/4/2/bjgpopen20X101024.full.pdf}, journal = {BJGP Open} }