Doctors' health-seeking behaviour: A questionnaire survey

Abstract

Objectives: To explore doctors' perceptions of the acceptable limits to self-treatment and to identify barriers to doctors seeking appropriate healthcare. Design: Self-completion, postal survey using three hypothetical case vignettes. Setting and participants: 896 Australian doctors randomly selected from the Health Insurance Commission database and stratified by sex, discipline (general practitioner or specialist) and location (urban or rural). Data were collected between May and July 2001. Main outcome measures: Doctors' self-reported attitudes on illness behaviour and choice of medical care in response to case vignettes. Results: 358 (40%) doctors returned questionnaires. More participant..