European survey of primary care physician perceptions on heart failure diagnosis and management (Euro-HF)
Population
Primary care physicians across six European countries
Design
Cross-sectional
Authors
Discussion
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Member takes
Implication
Exaggerated risk perceptions may underlie gaps in HF diagnosis and ACEI prescribing; leaves open whether targeted education improves practice.
Key Points
- This research aims to understand primary care physicians' perceptions of diagnosing and managing heart failure across Europe.
- Qualitative, postal questionnaire-based survey of 200 physicians from five European countries and 250 from the UK.
- Respondents reported on diagnostic methods, prescribing practices, and their attitudes toward evidence in heart failure treatment.
- Adjusted response rates ranged from 17% to 56% across different countries.
- Physicians underestimate heart failure prevalence, with only 32% conducting further investigations.
- Despite 91% prescribing ACE inhibitors, only 47-62% of patients actually receive them at effective doses.
- Over half of the physicians believe ACE inhibitors pose substantial risks, outweighing perceived treatment benefits.
Structured PICO
P
Population
Primary care physicians across six European countries (France, Germany, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.)
I
Intervention
Postal questionnaire-based survey
O
Outcome
Physician perceptions and attitudes about heart failure diagnosis and treatment
Primary care physicians across Europe under-utilize objective investigations for heart failure diagnosis and under-prescribe ACE inhibitors due to exaggerated perceptions of treatment risks.
Limitations
- general problem of questionnaires
- whether responses accord with actual clinical practice
- low response rate in some countries
Cite This Study
Richard Hobbs (2000) studied this question.