Partnership or paternalistic model of physician care for older patients? Perspectives of a 76-year-old woman and a 75-year-old man

Abstract

Older patients see their doctors relatively often and so recognition of their healthcare preferences can lead to improved quality of care. Knowledge of older patients’ views and preferences is still relatively unexplored, especially the kind of model of care they prefer - partnership or paternalistic. This paper presents results of part of a qualitative research project on the experience of patients over 65-years-old who are consumers of family physicians’ care in Poland. The aim of this study was to explore the type of physician care relationship preferred by elderly patients - partnership or paternalistic. In-depth interviews were conducted, encouraging the participants to speak freely about the care they received from family physicians. The interviews were recorded and then fully transcribed. The content of the transcripts was analyzed thematically. Two elderly patients, male and female, with chronic illnesses, were interviewed about their experiences during visits to the doctor, including their expectations about physician care and what they considered to be the most important aspects of visiting a doctor. Descriptions of the above two cases prove that there is no simple answer to the question of a family doctor care model type which is better for older patients. One subject preferred the paternalistic approach, whereas the other preferred a partnership model based on cooperation. Both patients emphasized the need for acquiring information on the disease, treatments and outcomes regardless of the preferred care model.