How is physicians' implicit prejudice against the obese and mentally ill moderated by specialty and experience?

Background: Implicit prejudice can lead to disparities in treatment. The effects of specialty and experience on implicit obesity and mental illness prejudice had not been explored. The main objective was to examine how specializing in psychiatry/general medicine and years of experience moderated implicit obesity and mental illness prejudice among Swiss physicians.

Visual aids in ambulatory clinical practice: Experiences, perceptions and needs of patients and healthcare professionals.

This study aims to explore how visual aids (VA) are used in ambulatory medical practice. Our research group (two doctors, one graphic designer and one sociologist) have led a qualitative study based on Focus Groups. A semi-structured guide and examples of VA were used to stimulate discussions.

Vulnerability identified in clinical practice: a qualitative analysis.

Background: Although it is the moral duty of physicians to protect vulnerable patients, there are no data on how vulnerability is perceived in clinical practice. This study explores how physicians classify someone as "vulnerable".

Method: Thirty-three physicians were initially questioned about resource allocation problems in their work.

Swiss-CHAT: Citizens Discuss Priorities for Swiss Health Insurance Coverage.

Background: As universal health coverage becomes the norm in many countries, it is important to determine public priorities regarding benefits to include in health insurance coverage. We report results of participation in a decision exercise among residents of Switzerland, a high-income country with a long history of universal health insurance and deliberative democracy.

Methods: We adapted the Choosing Healthplans All Together (CHAT) tool, an exercise developed to transform complex healthcare allocation decisions into easily understandable choices, for use in Switzerland.

Solidarity and cost management: Swiss citizens' reasons for priorities regarding health insurance coverage.

Context: Approaches to priority-setting for scarce resources have shifted to public deliberation as trade-offs become more difficult. We report results of a qualitative analysis of public deliberation in Switzerland, a country with high health-care costs, an individual health insurance mandate and a strong tradition of direct democracy with frequent votes related to health care.

Methods: We adapted the Choosing Healthplans All Together (CHAT) tool, an exercise developed to transform complex health-care allocation decisions into easily understandable choices, for use in Switzerland.

Unresolved issues in risk communication research: the case of the H1N1 pandemic (2009-2011).

The 2009 H1N1 pandemic had considerable impact on risk perceptions, vaccination campaigns, and global health governance. In this context, risk communication issues have been probably the most puzzling and the least understood in retrospect. This article reviews the current knowledge on the following issues: risk and pandemic perceptions; vaccination perceptions and practices; rumors and rumor propagation; and health risk communication.