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Self-Care for Common Colds by Primary Care Patients : A European Multicenter Survey on the Prevalence and Patterns of Practices - The COCO Study

Thielmann, Anika ; Gerasimovska-Kitanovska, Biljana ; Buczkowski, Krzysztof ; Koskela, Tuomas H. ; Mevsim, Vildan ; Czachowski, Slawomir ; Petrazzuoli, Ferdinando LU orcid ; Petek-Šter, Marija ; Lingner, Heidrun and Hoffman, Robert D. , et al. (2016) In Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2016.
Abstract

Background. Patients use self-care to relieve symptoms of common colds, yet little is known about the prevalence and patterns across Europe. Methods/Design. In a cross-sectional study 27 primary care practices from 14 countries distributed 120 questionnaires to consecutive patients (≥18 years, any reason for consultation). A 27-item questionnaire asked for patients' self-care for their last common cold. Results. 3,074 patients from 27 European sites participated. Their mean age was 46.7 years, and 62.5% were females. 99% of the participants used ≥1 self-care practice. In total, 527 different practices were reported; the age-standardized mean was 11.5 (±SD 6.0) per participant. The most frequent self-care categories were foodstuffs... (More)

Background. Patients use self-care to relieve symptoms of common colds, yet little is known about the prevalence and patterns across Europe. Methods/Design. In a cross-sectional study 27 primary care practices from 14 countries distributed 120 questionnaires to consecutive patients (≥18 years, any reason for consultation). A 27-item questionnaire asked for patients' self-care for their last common cold. Results. 3,074 patients from 27 European sites participated. Their mean age was 46.7 years, and 62.5% were females. 99% of the participants used ≥1 self-care practice. In total, 527 different practices were reported; the age-standardized mean was 11.5 (±SD 6.0) per participant. The most frequent self-care categories were foodstuffs (95%), extras at home (81%), preparations for intestinal absorption (81%), and intranasal applications (53%). Patterns were similar across all sites, while the number of practices varied between and within countries. The most frequent single practices were water (43%), honey (42%), paracetamol (38%), oranges/orange juice (38%), and staying in bed (38%). Participants used 9 times more nonpharmaceutical items than pharmaceutical items. The majority (69%) combined self-care with and without proof of evidence, while ≤1% used only evidence-based items. Discussion. This first cross-national study on self-care for common colds showed a similar pattern across sites but quantitative differences.

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publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine
volume
2016
article number
6949202
publisher
Hindawi Limited
external identifiers
  • pmid:27738443
  • wos:000385079200001
  • scopus:84990888242
ISSN
1741-427X
DOI
10.1155/2016/6949202
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8d59efe5-0045-4e8a-ae77-8351b5cbd554
date added to LUP
2016-11-08 12:34:47
date last changed
2024-01-19 12:43:36
@article{8d59efe5-0045-4e8a-ae77-8351b5cbd554,
  abstract     = {{<p>Background. Patients use self-care to relieve symptoms of common colds, yet little is known about the prevalence and patterns across Europe. Methods/Design. In a cross-sectional study 27 primary care practices from 14 countries distributed 120 questionnaires to consecutive patients (≥18 years, any reason for consultation). A 27-item questionnaire asked for patients' self-care for their last common cold. Results. 3,074 patients from 27 European sites participated. Their mean age was 46.7 years, and 62.5% were females. 99% of the participants used ≥1 self-care practice. In total, 527 different practices were reported; the age-standardized mean was 11.5 (±SD 6.0) per participant. The most frequent self-care categories were foodstuffs (95%), extras at home (81%), preparations for intestinal absorption (81%), and intranasal applications (53%). Patterns were similar across all sites, while the number of practices varied between and within countries. The most frequent single practices were water (43%), honey (42%), paracetamol (38%), oranges/orange juice (38%), and staying in bed (38%). Participants used 9 times more nonpharmaceutical items than pharmaceutical items. The majority (69%) combined self-care with and without proof of evidence, while ≤1% used only evidence-based items. Discussion. This first cross-national study on self-care for common colds showed a similar pattern across sites but quantitative differences.</p>}},
  author       = {{Thielmann, Anika and Gerasimovska-Kitanovska, Biljana and Buczkowski, Krzysztof and Koskela, Tuomas H. and Mevsim, Vildan and Czachowski, Slawomir and Petrazzuoli, Ferdinando and Petek-Šter, Marija and Lingner, Heidrun and Hoffman, Robert D. and Tekiner, Selda and Chambe, Juliette and Edirne, Tamer and Hoffmann, Kathryn and Pirrotta, Enzo and Uludaǧ, Ayşegül and Yikilkan, Hülya and Kreitmayer Pestic, Sanda and Zielinski, Andrzej and Guede Fernández, Clara and Weltermann, Birgitta}},
  issn         = {{1741-427X}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  publisher    = {{Hindawi Limited}},
  series       = {{Evidence-based Complementary and Alternative Medicine}},
  title        = {{Self-Care for Common Colds by Primary Care Patients : A European Multicenter Survey on the Prevalence and Patterns of Practices - The COCO Study}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2016/6949202}},
  doi          = {{10.1155/2016/6949202}},
  volume       = {{2016}},
  year         = {{2016}},
}