General Practice
During the course of a year, approximately 90% of the Danish population are in contact with their general practitioner. Thus, general medicine is central to the support and coordination of coherent treatment and patient pathways.
For more than 20 years, general medicine has been a central field of research both nationally and internationally. We have focused on public health diseases such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, as well as mental health and minor psychiatric disorders. In addition to scientific publications, we have contributed to a number of guidelines for general practitioners and reports made for, among others, the Council of Health and Disease Prevention and the Danish Health Authority.
Most of our researchers also have clinical experience, and cooperation with and relevance to practice is a fundamental value. Internationally, we cooperate in particular with universities in Cambridge, Leicester, Oslo as well as UC London, UCLA, and Utrecht University.
Our research concerns questions such as:
- Can general health examinations and doctor-patient conversations increase quality of life, reduce the risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases and increase longevity?
- How can general practice support motivation for each individual to live more healthily and receive optimal care?
- How can diagnostics and the treatment of mental disorders be optimised in general practice?
Projects and scientific milestones
- The ADDITION project is an international study with Danish roots. ADDITION focuses on early identification and treatment of non-diagnosed diabetes in 40- to 69-year-olds. The project has contributed significantly to knowledge on the importance of early identification, the opportunity to and effect of treating individuals at an early stage of the disease, the development of macro- and micro-vascular complications, and the importance of patients’ understanding and management of life with diabetes.
- "Check your Health” in Randers og ”Your Life, your health” in Aarhus Municipality investigate whether citizens’ health and quality of life can be improved, and whether lifestyle-related diseases may be prevented by “diagnosing” citizens as early as possible and by helping the individual to change lifestyle or start treatment before symptoms develop.
- The PST (Problem Solving Therapy) project is a randomised study in Central Denmark Region, evaluating the effect of post-graduate training of doctors to conduct “problem-solving conversations”.
- Heart rehabilitation: long-term follow-up study on the effect of socially differentiated heart rehabilitation in patients with first-time acute myocardial infarction.
Methods
The unit has experts in epidemiological and qualitative methods. In particular, we focus on the patient perspective regarding multimorbidity. We also have experience in carrying out clinical studies (randomised and follow-up studies), qualitative studies, register-based research and health services research.
