Greening Family Medicine clinic operations and clinical care, where do we start? A scoping review of toolkits and aids.

BACKGROUND: There is a pressing need for healthcare to respond to the climate crisis. Family physicians, given their central role in community healthcare provision, are strategically placed to lead, support, and promote sustainable healthcare, yet guidance on how to do this is fragmented. OBJECTIVE: To identify and evaluate toolkits and aids on sustainable healthcare to act as a curated resource for family physicians and their care teams interested in delivering evidence-based sustainable healthcare in their clinical practices. METHODS: A scoping review was completed of the published and grey literature across 4 databases and 2 search engines to identify articles and aids/toolkits from 1990 to present. Toolkits were subsequently evaluated for purpose, evidence-base, implementation process, adaptability to family medicine, and outcome measures. RESULTS: The search identified 17,751 articles. Screening resulted in 20 published articles and 11 toolkits. Most articles presented simple checklists to support greening clinic initiatives, 3 studies focussed on partial carbon footprint analyses, and 4 on educational initiatives. Toolkits ranged in sustainability topics and degree of depth covered, and adaptability and outcome measures. None of the resources identified have been formally evaluated for effectiveness. CONCLUSIONS: A range of aids exist to support greening of clinic operations; however, there is a significant gap in the literature for greening clinical care. Two toolkits were found to be comprehensive, one requiring tracking and reporting of sustainability initiatives. This scoping review provides a starting point for motivated family doctors and community clinics to initiate change and support more sustainable healthcare.

Why Do We Feel Like Intellectual Frauds? A Self-Determination Theory Perspective on the Impostor Phenomenon in Medical Students.

Theory: Impostor phenomenon (IP) refers to people's feelings of intellectual fraudulence and fear of being "discovered," despite contradicting evidence of success. Due to its association with burnout and distress, it is progressively being studied in medicine. While various explanations for IP have been discussed in the literature, the role of motivation has largely been neglected. Hypotheses: Using self-determination theory (SDT) as a lens, it was hypothesized that different general causality orientations (impersonal, control, autonomy), domain-specific types of motivation (autonomous vs. controlled) toward going to medical school, and levels of satisfaction of basic psychological needs (autonomy, competence, relatedness) in the medical program, would each predict severity of IP symptoms. Method: A total of 1,450 medical students from three Canadian institutions were invited to complete a survey containing the Clance Impostor Phenomenon Scale and scales derived from SDT's mini theories: basic psychological needs theory, causality orientations theory, and organismic integration theory. We explored the prevalence of IP among the students and used regression to capture variable relationships, accounting for gender effects. Results: Data from 277 (19.1%) students were assessed, 73% of whom reported moderate or worse IP symptoms. Having an impersonal general causality orientation, more controlled motivation toward going to medical school, and lower need satisfaction in the medical program, each related to increased IP severity. Together, these motivational factors accounted for 30.3%, 13.6%, and 21.8% of the variance in students' IP severity, respectively. Conclusions: Findings from this study suggest that students who are more self-determined (both in general and in medical school), and whose basic psychological needs are more supported in their medical program, will experience less frequent and severe IP symptoms. Preliminary explanations and implications of these findings are discussed within the medical education context.

Traitement antidépresseur personnalisé pour les patients souffrant d'un trouble dépressif caractérisé: Outil novateur d'aide à la décision fondée sur des données probantes.

OBJECTIF: Présenter un outil visuel d'aide à la décision clinique dans le but d'aider à personnaliser la pharmacothérapie par antidépresseurs de première intention pour les adultes souffrant d'un trouble dépressif caractérisé (TDC) dans un contexte canadien. SOURCES DE L'INFORMATION: Une recherche documentaire a été effectuée au moyen de Google Scholar, PubMed, la base de données Cochrane des revues systématiques et Trip Pro à l'aide des vedettes MeSH en anglais depression, antidepressive agents, primary care, practice patterns, medication adherence et decision making, shared. MESSAGE PRINCIPAL: Le trouble dépressif caractérisé touche chaque année environ 4,7 % des Canadiens, et il est fréquemment observé et diagnostiqué en soins primaires. La dépression non traitée est liée à une moins bonne qualité de vie, à un risque accru de suicide, de même qu'à une détérioration de la santé physique lorsque la dépression se produit simultanément avec d'autres problèmes chroniques de santé. Dans une méta-analyse en réseau, des médicaments antidépresseurs (comme les inhibiteurs sélectifs de la recapture de la sérotonine, les inhibiteurs de la recapture de la sérotonine-norépinéphrine, le bupropion et la vortioxétine) ont réduit de 50 % ou plus les symptômes de dépression par rapport à un placebo dans le traitement aigu d'adultes souffrant d'un TDC d'une intensité modérée à sévère. Une mauvaise adhésion au traitement et des taux élevés de discontinuation limitent la réussite du traitement du TDC. Il a été démontré que des facteurs comme des alliances thérapeutiques solides entre les patients et les prescripteurs, des soins en collaboration, l'éducation des patients et une autogestion soutenue accroissent l'adhésion au traitement. Les plus récentes lignes directrices sur le traitement de la dépression du CANMAT (Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments), publiées en 2016, proposent 15 options différentes d'antidépresseurs de première intention pour le traitement du TDC. Des aides à la décision fondée sur des données probantes sont nécessaires pour personnaliser le traitement aux antidépresseurs dans le cas des patients ayant reçu un diagnostic de TDC. CONCLUSION: De récentes études sur les antidépresseurs ont indiqué qu'aucun antidépresseur n'est supérieur à un autre dans le traitement des patients souffrant d'un TDC. Cela donne à croire qu'il pourrait être possible d'améliorer l'adhésion au traitement et sa réussite en personnalisant le traitement par antidépresseurs en fonction des préférences de chaque patient. L'Outil d'aide au choix d'un antidépresseur a été élaboré pour aider les prescripteurs et les patients adultes à entreprendre une prise de décision partagée pour choisir un antidépresseur de première intention personnalisé et optimal pour le traitement d'un TDC aigu.

Individualized antidepressant therapy in patients with major depressive disorder: Novel evidence-informed decision support tool.

OBJECTIVE: To introduce a visual clinical decision support tool to assist with individualizing first-line antidepressant pharmacotherapy for adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) in a Canadian context. SOURCES OF INFORMATION: A literature review was conducted with Google Scholar, PubMed, the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Trip Pro using the MeSH headings depression, antidepressive agents, primary care, practice patterns, medication adherence, and decision making, shared. MAIN MESSAGE: Major depressive disorder affects about 4.7% of Canadians annually and is a prevalent condition encountered and diagnosed in primary care. Untreated depression is associated with decreased quality of life, increased risk of suicide, and worsening physical health outcomes when depression co-occurs with other chronic medical conditions. In a network meta-analysis, antidepressant medications (such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors, bupropion, and vortioxetine) reduced depressive symptoms by 50% or more when compared with placebo in acute treatment of adults with moderate to severe MDD. Poor treatment adherence and high discontinuation rates limit MDD treatment success. Factors such as strong therapeutic alliances between patients and prescribers, collaborative care, patient education, and supportive self-management have been shown to enhance treatment adherence. The most recent Canadian Network for Mood and Anxiety Treatments depression treatment guidelines (published in 2016) suggest 15 different first-line antidepressant medication options for the treatment of MDD. There is a need for evidence-informed decision support aids to individualize antidepressant therapy to treat patients diagnosed with MDD. CONCLUSION: Recent studies on antidepressants have indicated no single antidepressant is superior to others in treating patients with MDD. This suggests there may be opportunities to enhance treatment adherence and success by tailoring antidepressant therapy to align with each patient's preferences. The Antidepressant Decision Support Tool was developed to help prescribers and adult patients engage in shared decision making to select an individualized and optimal first-line antidepressant for the treatment of acute MDD.

Embodying empathy: A phenomenological study of physician touch.

CONTEXT: Empathic physician behaviour is associated with improved patient outcomes. One way to demonstrate empathy is through the use of non-verbal communication (NVC) including touch. To date, research on NVC, and specifically touch, has been relatively limited in medicine, which is surprising given the central role it plays in conveying affective and empathic messages. To inform curriculum development on NVC, this study aimed to examine physicians' experiences of communicating by touch. METHODS: We conducted an interpretative phenomenological study. A total of 15 physicians (seven women and eight men) from different specialties, including both recent graduates and experienced doctors, described in detail specific instances of touch drawn from their clinical practices. Interview prompts encouraged participants to recall exact details such as the context, their relationship with the patient they touched and their physical experience of touching. Interviews (45-100 minutes) were analysed with template analysis, followed by a process of dialectic questioning, moving back and forth between the data and researchers' personal reflections on them, drawing on phenomenological literature to synthesise a final interpretation. RESULTS: Participants described two dimensions of the experience of touch: 'choosing and inviting touch' and 'expressing empathy.' Touch was a personal and fragile process. Participants interpreted non-verbal patient cues in order to determine whether or not touch was appropriate. They interpreted facial expressions and body language in the present to make meaning of patients' experiences. They used touch to share emotions, and to demonstrate empathy and presence. Participants' experiences of touch framed it as a form of embodied empathic communication. CONCLUSIONS: Touch is a powerful form of NVC that can establish human connection. Phenomenological accounts of empathy, which emphasise its embodied intersubjective nature, can be used to theoretically enrich pedagogical approaches to touch in medical education and to deepen our understanding of empathy.