PATTERNS OF PREVENTIVE PRACTICE IN NEW-BRUNSWICK

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  • 1 January 1985
    • journal article
    • research article
    • Vol. 132  (9) , 1013-1015
Abstract
A survey of active general practitioners was conducted in New Brunswick to ascertain their patterns of preventive practice with respect to cancer of 4 anatomic sites: the breast, the cervix, the colon and rectum and the lung. Of the physicians 92% reported that they taught breast self-examination to their female patients, 98% that they performed breast examinations, 98% that they did Papanicolaou smears routinely and 97% that they provided counselling against smoking. Few of the physicians reported that they submitted women aged 50-59 yr to annual mammography (3%) or examined stool samples from asymptomatic patients > 44 yr of age for occult blood (20%). Many (77%) said they still routinely performed chest roentogenography for early detection of lung cancer; an estimated 49% of the physicians said they performed cytologic screening of sputum samples for the same purpose. Preventive practices, when used, were usually carried out during major encounters with patients, such as general check-ups. The potential for prevention through this clinically based approach is still largely unrealized.