Mental states in early and late old age patients and their expectations of their physicians.

OBJECTIVES: Understanding and fulfilling expectations of patients attending medical consultations is part and parcel of medical practice. Clinical context in which these expectations arise is crucial in assessing patients' expectations. The objective of this research was to assess patients' expectations of medical doctors depending on patients' mental state.

METHODS: Patients attending GP consultations were examined. The research sample consisted of 219 patients, out of which 129 (59%) were female and 90 (41%) were male patients. The mean age of patients was 61 (SD = 9.80). The 28-item General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) and the Four Dimensional Symptom Questionnaire (4DSQ) were administered to assess patients' mental state and Patient Request Form (PRF) was used to assess patients' expectations of medical doctors.

RESULTS: The study revealed that the youngest patients declared the highest anxiety and insomnia levels and that they differed significantly from the oldest patients. The sampled patients did not differ in terms of other mental state dimensions. It was also documented that younger patients had higher expectations of their medical doctors, required greater explanation of their medical condition and expected more emotional support. Both intensity and duration of somatic symptoms were particularly important in shaping those expectations.

CONCLUSIONS: The research findings show the need for systematic assessment of mental state of patients attending medical consultations. Mental state and somatic symptoms intensity are essential indicators of patients' expectations of medical doctors.