Practicing Health Promotion: The Doctor's Dilemma

Field: Health Professions (Health Sciences)

Editorials15 September 1990Practicing Health Promotion: The Doctor's DilemmaMarshall H. Becker, PhD, MPH, Nancy K. Janz, PhD, MSMarshall H. Becker, PhD, MPHSearch for more papers by this author, Nancy K. Janz, PhD, MSSearch for more papers by this authorAuthor, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-113-6-419 SectionsAboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail ExcerptWhy have physicians been slow to integrate disease prevention and health promotion into routine clinical practice? Despite published guidelines, professional exhortations, and patient expectations, many physicians devote insufficient attention to implementing available prevention technologies and educating patients about modification of behavioral risk factors (1-6). The lost potential for health enhancement and disease prevention is considerable: Many persons visit a physician at least once in any given year; in surveys, physicians are cited by the public as the best and most reliable and credible source of health information; and much research has documented physician effectiveness (with minimal time and effort expenditure)...References1. JohnsHovellGaniatsPeddecordAgras MMTKW. Primary care and health promotion: a model for preventive medicine. Am J Prev Med. 1987;3:346-57. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar2. WechslerLevineIdelsonPohmanTaylor HSRMJ. The physician's role in health promotion—a survey of primary care practitioners. N Engl J Med. 1983;308:97-100. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. AndaRemingtonSienkoDavis RPDR. Are physicians advising smokers to quit? The patient's perspective. JAMA. 1987;257:1916-9. CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. RommFletcherHulka FSB. 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Hayward, MD, Earl P. Steinberg, MD, MPP, Daniel E. Ford, MD, MPH, Michael F. Roizen, MD, Keith W. Roach, MD 15 September 1990Volume 113, Issue 6Page: 419-422KeywordsHealth information technologyHealth promotionHealth surveysMedical risk factorsMotivation Issue Published: 15 September 1990 PDF DownloadLoading ...