Expectativas de los profesionales sanitarios sobre el beneficio obtenido por intervenciones habituales en atención primaria

AIM: Examine the expectations expressed by healthcare professionals about the benefit of several primary prevention interventions that are usually carried out in The Primary Care Consultations with evidence from moderate-high validity studies. DESIGN: Descriptive Cross-sectional Study by Survey. SITTING: Spanish Primary Healthcare Centers, between February 6 and May 5, 2020. PARTICIPANTS: General Practitioner and other practicing Primary Care professionals. MAIN MEASUREMENTS: a) the number and percentage of participants whose estimate of benefit deviates from the benefit supported by the evidence; b) the magnitudes of OVERestimation, NORMOestimation and UNDERestimation of each participant and each professional subgroup. RESULTS: Of the 701 respondents (67% women), 694 answered all eight questions and 4 between one and seven. The overestimation of benefit in the 8 interventions ranged from 86% to 90% of all medical participants and between 90% and 96% of all nursing participants. CONCLUSIONS: Most of the surveyed (healthcare) professionals overestimate both, prevention activities and preventive treatments, this may lead them to instil false hope in patients, to put patients at risk of serious side effects arising from such interventions and to squander resources.