How to learn skilled communication in primary care MUS consultations: a focus group study.

Background: Many general practitioners (GPs) experience communication problems in medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) consultations as they are insufficiently equipped with adequate communication skills or do not apply these in MUS consultations.

Objective: To define the most important learnable communication elements during MUS consultations according to MUS patients, GPs, MUS experts and teachers and to explore how these elements should be taught to GPs and GP trainees.

Methods: Five focus groups were conducted with homogeneous groups of MUS patients, GPs, MUS experts and teachers.

General practitioners' perspectives on management of early-stage chronic kidney disease: a focus group study.

Background: Guideline adherence in chronic kidney disease management is low, despite guideline implementation initiatives. Knowing general practitioners' (GPs') perspectives of management of early-stage chronic kidney disease (CKD) and the applicability of the national interdisciplinary guideline could support strategies to improve quality of care.

Method: Qualitative focus group study with 27 GPs in the Netherlands.

How family physicians address diagnosis and management of depression in palliative care patients.

Purpose: Depression is highly prevalent in palliative care patients. In clinical practice, there is concern about both insufficient and excessive diagnosis and treatment of depression. In the Netherlands, family physicians have a central role in delivering palliative care.

Explanation and relations. How do general practitioners deal with patients with persistent medically unexplained symptoms: a focus group study.

Background: Persistent presentation of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) is troublesome for general practitioners (GPs) and causes pressure on the doctor-patient relationship. As a consequence, GPs face the problem of establishing an ongoing, preferably effective relationship with these patients. This study aims at exploring GPs' perceptions about explaining MUS to patients and about how relationships with these patients evolve over time in daily practice.

Enhancing patient participation by training radiation oncologists.

Objective: Several studies have shown that patients' active participation to their medical interaction is beneficial for their information processing and their quality of life. Unfortunately, cancer patients often act rather passively in contact with their oncologists. We investigated whether cancer patients' participation in radiation therapy consultations could be enhanced by specific communicative behaviours of the radiation oncologists (ROs).

Interaction between the human hippocampus and the caudate nucleus during route recognition.

Navigation through familiar environments can rely upon distinct neural representations that are related to different memory systems with either the hippocampus or the caudate nucleus at their core. However, it is a fundamental question whether and how these systems interact during route recognition. To address this issue, we combined a functional neuroimaging approach with a naturally occurring, well-controlled human model of caudate nucleus dysfunction (i.

Central coherence and cognitive shifting in relation to social improvement in high-functioning young adults with autism.

The objective of this prospective study was to evaluate the possible role of two cognitive styles--weak central coherence and poor cognitive shifting--in predicting social improvement in patients with autistic disorder. Thirty patients, largely similar in age (young adults), intelligence (high-functioning) and living conditions (residential treatment in the same unit) were assessed at two separate time points with a 3-year interval between pretest and posttest. At pretest central coherence, cognitive shifting and several aspects of social functioning--symptom severity, social intelligence and social competence--were measured.