Explaining Primary Care Visits

Patients visit health professionals for a variety of medical and nonmedical reasons, many of which are not obvious. This study examined the reasons motivating people to initiate visits to a clinic staffed by nurse practitioners. 128 patients responded to a special question concerning expectations of the visit. Approximately 30% of the sample had “hidden agendas” that could not have been predicted during their regular interview on arrival at the clinic. At that time virtually all sampled patients said that they had initiated a visit because of a physical symptom, but their later responses to the special question consistently revealed their needs for nursing care. Implications for nurse practitioner practice and research are presented.