Kathryn Hoffmann

• MD, MPH
• Head of the Department of Primary Care Medicine at Medical University of Vienna

Background: Person-centred care (PCC) is a fundamental principle in general practice, emphasising practices tailored to individual patient preferences, needs, and values. Despite the importance of PCC, general practitioners (GPs) face obstacles in effectively implementing it, with associated factors remaining unclear. Objectives: The PACE GP/FP...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on the physical and mental health of healthcare workers worldwide. The aim of the paper is to measure the frequency of distress and wellbeing among general practitioners (GPs) in Austria during the pandemic and to identify key levers that could mitigate the risks of distress. M...

Background The adoption of healthy self-care practices has proven necessary for professional life, as they often serve as a shield against stressors in the workplace. The COVID-19 pandemic created a high strain on general practitioners (GPs), contributing to increased workload, burnout, and anxiety. The present study aimed to identify self-care pra...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the use of telemedicine, specifically video consultations as they provide healthcare access in challenging situations where face-to-face encounters are not possible. Nevertheless, it remains largely unknown to what extent the organisation of general practice and national digital infrastructures have impa...

Providing health care is a balancing act among human resources, financial pressures and system-intrinsic factors. Understanding the utilization behaviour of primary and secondary care facilities [general practitioners (GPs) vs. specialists, as well as in- and outpatient hospital care] is crucial for a country like Austria, which has free access to...

Background Long-COVID is a new multisectoral healthcare challenge. This study aims at understanding experiences, knowledge, attitudes and (information) needs that GPs had and have in relation to Long-COVID and how these evolved since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods The study used an exploratory qualitative research design using sem...

Background: This article aims to examine patient safety in general practice during COVID-19. Methods: In total, 5489 GP practices from 37 European countries and Israel filled in the online self-reported PRICOV-19 survey between November 2020 and December 2021. The outcome measures include 30 patient safety indicators on structure, process, and outc...

Background Long COVID-19 challenges health and social systems globally. International research finds major inequalities in prevalence and healthcare utilization as patients describe difficulties with accessing health care. In order to improve long-term outcomes it is vital to understand any underlying access barriers, for which relevant evidence on...

Background: The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in several European countries involved collaboration between public health and Primary Health Care (PHC). Objective: To highlight the role of PHC professionals in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, specifically in terms of vaccine administration, communication and contributing to vaccination populatio...

Person-centered care (PCC) is widely acknowledged as a core value in family medicine and has been associated with many positive outcomes of care. There has been no comparison of GPs attitudes towards person-centeredness across European countries.

Mit den vielen Covid-19-Erkrankungen in den letzten Jahren steigen auch die Langzeitfolgen dieser Infektion. Dazu zählen unter anderem das posturale Tachykardiesyndrom, eine Dysfunktion des autonomen Nervensystems, und die Post-Exertional Malaise. Mit unzähligen kardiovaskulären und muskuloskelettalen, aber auch neurologischen Symptomen sind viele...

Background Experts estimate that in up to 10% of the infected, SARS-CoV-2 would cause persistent symptoms, activity limitations and reduced quality of life. Referred to as long COVID, these conditions might, in the future, specifically impact German-speaking countries due to their higher rates of unvaccinated people compared to other Western countr...

The term long COVID (LC) effectively describes the broad long-term disease burden of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus type 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections, encompassing individual suffering and significant socioeconomic impacts. However, its general use hampers precise epidemiological research, diagnostics and therapeutic strategies. Misinte...

Background: Long COVID-19 challenges health and social systems globally. International research finds major inequalities in prevalence and healthcare utilization as patients describe difficulties with accessing health care. In order to improve long-term outcomes it is vital to understand any underlying access barriers, for which relevant evidence o...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has necessitated changes in European healthcare systems, with a significant proportion of COVID-19 cases being managed on an outpatient basis in primary healthcare (PHC). To alleviate the burden on healthcare facilities, many European countries developed contact-tracing apps and symptom checkers to identify potenti...

Background Recruitment for surveys has been a great challenge, especially in general practice. Methods Here, we reported recruitment strategies, data collection, participation rates (PR) and representativeness of the PRICOV-19 study, an international comparative, cross-sectional, online survey among general practices (GP practices) in 37 European...

Background Primary Health Care (PHC) plays a crucial role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 8% of cases requiring hospitalization. However, PHC COVID-19 data often goes unnoticed on European government dashboards and in media discussions. This project aims to examine official information on PHC patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic i...

Background Inclusion of patients in healthcare service and system planning is an increasingly important tool to improve healthcare systems worldwide. In 2012, a focused healthcare reform was initiated in Austria to strengthen the primary care sector which is still underway in 2023. Objective The aim of this study was to assess the perceptions, des...

Zusammenfassung Myalgische Enzephalomyelitis/Chronisches Fatigue-Syndrom (ME/CFS) ist eine schwere, chronische Multisystemerkrankung, die je nach Ausprägung zu erheblichen körperlichen und kognitiven Einschränkungen, zum Verlust der Arbeitsfähigkeit bis hin zur Pflegebedürftigkeit einschließlich künstlicher Ernährung und in sehr schweren Fällen sog...

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant negative impact on the physical and mental health of healthcare workers worldwide. The aim of the paper is to measure the frequency of distress and wellbeing among general practitioners (GPs) in Austria during the pandemic and to identify key levers that could mitigate the risks of distress. M...

Mit dem Ziel, einen tiefen Einblick in die Arbeits- und Lebensbedingungen der 24h-Betreuer*innen in Österreich zu gewinnen und deren Bedürfnisse zu erfassen, wurde im transdisziplinären Forschungsprojekt MigraCare eine online Umfrage unter Betreuer*innen durchgeführt. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass es nötig ist, Angebote und Stellen in Österreich zusc...

Background During the COVID-19 pandemic, the majority of patients received ambulatory treatment, highlighting the importance of primary health care (PHC). However, there is limited knowledge regarding PHC workload in Europe during this period. The utilization of COVID-19 PHC indicators could facilitate the efficient monitoring and coordination of t...

Dieser Beitrag beschäftigt sich mit der Allgemeinmedizin im Wandel der Zeit – von den Anfängen der ärztlichen Medizin über die Entwicklung der Fachdisziplinen, die Neudefinition der Allgemein- medizin hin zur Familienmedizin und die modernen Herausforderungen, die dieser Beruf mit sich bringt. Vor allem sollte die Allgemeinmedizin mehr sein als die...

This article explores the factors influencing the choice of general practitioners (GPs) and their role in the health care of vegans in Austria. The number of people identifying as vegan is on the rise, and GPs are increasingly confronted with vegan patients. A qualitative method was chosen for this study, and 14 semi-structured interviews with vega...

Objective This study aims to understand reasons for vaccine hesitancy (VH) among general practioners (GPs) and paediatricians. We aim to analyse how and when the healthcare workers (HCWs) developed vaccine-hesitant views and how they transfer these to patients. Design and setting Semistructured interviews with vaccine-hesitant GPs and paediatricia...

Background Primary care is internationally recognised as one of the cornerstones of health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care physicians were assigned a variety of tasks and thus made a significant contribution to a country’s pandemic response. They were expected to perform a variety of tasks, such as diagnosing and treating people wi...

Background: COVID-19 is a new multisectoral healthcare challenge. This study contributes to research on long COVID. It aims at understanding experiences, knowledge, attitudes and (information) needs that GPs have in relation to long COVID and how these evolved since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study used an exploratory qua...

Background Primary Health Care (PHC) plays a crucial role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 8% of cases requiring hospitalization. However, PHC COVID-19 data often goes unnoticed on European government dashboards and in media discussions. This project aims to examine official information on PHC patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic i...

Background The SARS-CoV2 pandemic as well as the implementation of public health measures to decrease the spread of the virus re-sparked the call for “virtual” health or “distance” treatments. This paper aimed to assess the use of video consultations, the up-to-dateness of practice websites, and the views of GPs on whether eHealth is a positive asp...

Background and aim Primary health care (PHC) supported long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in attending COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study is to describe the role of PHC in LTCFs in Europe during the early phase of the pandemic. Methods Retrospective descriptive study from 30 European countries using data from September 2020 collected with an...

Background Teleconsultation has gained increased attention in primary care as a means to deliver healthcare services remotely. This qualitative study explores the perceptions and challenges of healthcare providers regarding the implementation and use of teleconsultation in their practice. Method Semi-structured interviews were conducted with GPs w...

Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Leitlinie S1 ist die Aktualisierung und Weiterentwicklung der Leitlinie S1 Long COVID: Differenzialdiagnostik und Behandlungsstrategien. Sie fasst den Stand der Kenntnis zu postviralen Zuständen anhand des Beispiels Long/Post COVID zum Zeitpunkt des Redaktionsschlusses zusammen. Aufgrund der starken Dynamik der Wisse...

Ongoing study with preliminary results

We read with interest the article "Myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome: a review of the current evidence" [1] had read. However, literature search and analysis are methodologically inadequate and the results are at odds with the current evidence.

Background Primary care is internationally recognised as one of the cornerstones of health care. During the COVID-19 pandemic, primary care physicians were assigned a variety of tasks and thus made a significant contribution to a country's pandemic response. They were expected to perform a variety of tasks, such as diagnosing and treating people wi...

How was the COVID-19 vaccination pathway in different European countries in PHC? Where did vaccination take place in the community?

Background: Most COVID-19 patients were treated in primary health care (PHC) in Europe. Objectives: To demonstrate the scope of PHC workflow during the COVID-19 pandemic emphasising similarities and differences of patient's clinical pathways in Europe. Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study with data acquired through a semi-structured que...

This paper explores the differences between rural and urban practices in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic, emphasizing aspects such as management of patient flow, infection prevention and control, information processing, communication and collaboration. Using a cross-sectional design, data were collected through the online PRICOV-19 questionna...

COVID-19 proved that primary care (PC) providers have an important role in managing health emergencies, such as epidemics. Little is known about the preparedness of primary care practice infrastructure to continue providing high quality care during this crisis. The aim of this paper is to describe the perceived limitations to the infrastructure of...

Objective To increase knowledge of discrete symptoms shall help to avoid misinterpretation of test results and to gain better understanding of associations between early symptoms and severe disease to provide additional criteria for targeted early interventions. Design Retrospective observational study. Setting Austrian GP practices in the year 2...

Zusammenfassung Die vorliegende Leitlinie S1 fasst den Stand der Kenntnis zu Long COVID zum Zeitpunkt des Redaktionsschlusses zusammen. Aufgund der starken Dynamik der Wissensentwicklung versteht sie sich als „living guideline“. Der Schwerpunkt liegt auf der praktischen Anwendbarkeit auf der Ebene der hausärztlichen Primärversorgung, die als geeign...

Background Healthcare workers are considered key stakeholders in efforts to address vaccine hesitancy. Midwives’ influence in advising expectant parents on early-childhood vaccinations is unquestioned, yet they remain an understudied group. The literature on midwives’ attitudes towards vaccinations is also inconclusive. We therefore conducted an ex...

Background: Inclusion of patients in healthcare service and system planning is an increasingly important tool to improve healthcare systems worldwide. In 2012, a focused healthcare reform was initiated in Austria to strengthen the primary care sector. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the perceptions, desires and needs of patients in...

From a pool of 147 reliable recommendations, ten experts from the Austrian Society of General Practice and Family Medicine selected 21 relevant recommendations as the basis for the Delphi process. In two Delphi rounds, eleven experts established a top‑5 list of recommendations designed for Austrian family practice to reduce medical overuse. Three o...

Background Early detection is essential to control COVID-19. Symptoms are often unspecific. Data collected merely from patients tested according to testing criteria might lead to missing a bulk of spreaders. Knowledge of symptom development during the disease helps to detect complications early. Few data have been collected in primary care so far....

Background General practitioners (GPs) should regularly review patients’ medications and, if necessary, deprescribe, as inappropriate polypharmacy may harm patients’ health. However, deprescribing can be challenging for physicians. This study investigates GPs’ deprescribing decisions in 31 countries. Methods In this case vignette study, GPs were i...

Background A shortage of general practitioners (GPs) is common to many European countries. To counteract this, it is essential to understand the factors that encourage or discourage medical students from choosing to become a GP Objective To evaluate medical students’ attitudes towards general practice and to identify factors that discourage them f...

Further work from the EGPRN working group on self care of the Common Cold (the COCO study) this article delves into the gender differences we found in self care.

Objective To explore dementia management from a primary care physician perspective. Design One-page seven-item multiple choice questionnaire; free text space for every item; final narrative question of a dementia case story. Inductive explorative grounded theory analysis. Derived results in cluster analyses. Appropriateness of dementia drugs asses...

Background The best management of hypertension in frail oldest-old (≥80 years of age) remains unclear and we still lack guidelines that provide specific recommendations. Our study aims to investigate guideline use in general practitioners (GPs) and to examine if guideline use relates to different decisions when managing hypertension in frail oldest...

Background The best management of hypertension in frail oldest-old (≥80 years of age) remains unclear while lacking guidelines providing specific recommendations.Aim, Objectives To investigate guideline use in general practitioners (GPs) and if guideline use relates to different decisions when managing hypertension in frail oldest-old.Design/Settin...

Objective: This study aimed to analyze the Austrian health care system using the ecology of care model. Our secondary aim was to compare data from Austria with those available from other countries. Design: 3508 interviews employing a 30-item questionnaire related to the utilization of the health care system including demographic factors were conduc...

Background: Common cold and influenza result in an increased number of primary care consultations, significant work/school absences and cause a socio-economic burden. Laypeople’s perceptions and knowledge regarding common cold and influenza prevention is poorly understood and under-researched. Objectives: Our study explores laypeople’s knowledge of...

Aim: To assess the rates of specialist visits and visits to hospital emergency departments (ED) among patients in Austria with and without concurrent general practitioner (GP) consultation and among patients with and without chronic disease. Methods: The cross-sectional questionnaire study was conducted in the context of the QUALICOPC project in...

Background Statins are widely used to prevent cardiovascular disease (CVD). With advancing age, the risks of statins might outweigh the potential benefits. It is unclear which factors influence general practitioners’ (GPs) advice to stop statins in oldest-old patients. Objective To investigate the influence of a history of CVD, statin-related side...

Background There is little research on laypersons’ perceptions regarding common cold and influenza, their symptomatic distinction and considerations of risk. This study investigates understanding of pathogenesis across three European countries and provides a knowledge base from which adequate prevention recommendations and treatment advice can be d...

The current political crisis, conflicts and riots in many Middle Eastern and African countries have led to massive migration waves towards Europe. European countries, receiving these migratory waves as first port of entry (POE) over the past few years, were confronted with several challenges as a result of the sheer volume of newly arriving refugee...

Background: The ongoing refugee crisis has revealed the need for enhancing primary health care (PHC) professionals’ skills and training. Objectives: The aim was to strengthen PHC professionals in European countries in the provision of high-quality care for refugees and migrants by offering a concise modular training that was based on the needs of t...

In 2015, local wars, starvation and misery in some Middle Eastern, Asian and African countries forced millions of people to leave their homelands. Many of these people migrated toward Europe, reaching Hungary as well. The refugee crisis created significant challenges for all national healthcare systems across Europe. Limited attention has been give...

Objectives: We previously found large variations in general practitioner (GP) hypertension treatment probability in oldest-old (>80 years) between countries. We wanted to explore whether differences in country-specific cardiovascular disease (CVD) burden and life expectancy could explain the differences. Design: This is a survey study using case-vi...

Background: In order to provide effective primary care for refugees and to develop interventions tailored to them, we must know their needs. Little is known of the health needs and experiences of recently arrived refugees and other migrants throughout their journey through Europe. We aimed to gain insight into their health needs, barriers in acces...

Background In oldest-old patients (>80), few trials showed efficacy of treating hypertension and they included mostly the healthiest elderly. The resulting lack of knowledge has led to inconsistent guidelines, mainly based on systolic blood pressure (SBP), cardiovascular disease (CVD) but not on frailty despite the high prevalence in oldest-old. Th...

Background Strategies for the involvement of primary care in the management of patients with presumed or diagnosed dementia are heterogeneous across Europe. We wanted to explore attitudes of primary care physicians (PCPs) when managing dementia: (i) the most popular cognitive tests, (ii) who had the right to initiate or continue cholinesterase inhi...

Background Health services research, especially in primary care, is challenging because the systems differ widely between countries. This study aimed to explore the different understanding of the terminology used, particularly, regarding the professions nursing and medical secretaries. Methods The study was an add-on study to the Quality and Costs...

Background: Patients use self-care to relieve symptoms of common colds, yet little is known about the prevalence and patterns across Europe. Methods/Design: In a cross-sectional study 27 primary care practices from 14 countries distributed 120 questionnaires to consecutive patients (≥18 years, any reason for consultation). A 27-item questionnaire...

Background: The aim of this study was to compare influenza vaccination coverage rates in Austria and Croatia, countries with missing data in the Eurosurveillance and European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reports. In addition, we assessed demographic factors of GPs and patients and calculated associations regarding vaccination rates....

Background: Migrant health workers fill care gaps in their destination countries, but they also actively engage in improving living conditions for people of their countries of origin through expatriate professional networks. This paper aims to explore the professional links that migrant health workers from sub-Saharan African countries living in f...

Background: Multidisciplinary Primary Health Care Teams (PHCT) provide a comprehensive approach to address the social and health needs of communities. It was the aim of this analysis to assess the number of PHCT in Austria, a country with a weak PHC system, and to compare preventive activities, psychosocial care, and work satisfaction between GPs...

Background This study aimed to identify associations between GP patient’s knowledge about the spectrum of effectiveness of antibiotics and the probability of vaccination against influenza. The underlying hypothesis was that individuals with an understanding that antibiotics are ineffective against viruses, common colds, and flu were more likely to...

Background. Self-care for common colds is frequent, yet little is known about the spectrum, regional differences, and potential risks of self-care practices in patients from various European regions. Methods/Design. We describe the study protocol for a cross-sectional survey in 27 primary care centers from 14 European countries. At all sites, 120 c...

The supplementary material contains two files: file 1 shows the self-administered patient questionnaire addressing self-care for common cold; file 2 shows the physician questionnaire which was filled in by all collecting sites.

To assess the workload of general practitioners (GPs) in Austria, with a focus on identifying the differences between GPs working in urban and rural areas. Within the framework of the Quality and Costs of Primary Care in Europe (QUALICOPC) study, data were collected from a stratified sample of GPs using a standardized questionnaire between November...

The aim of this analysis was to assess the impact of chronic back pain and psychological distress on the utilization of primary and secondary levels of care in the ambulatory health care sector. Additionally, we aimed to determine if the joint effect of chronic back pain and psychological distress was higher than the impact of the sum of the two si...

Migration of health professionals is an important policy issue for both source and destination countries around the world. The majority of migrant care workers in industrialized countries today are women. However, the dimension of mobility of highly skilled females from countries of the global south has been almost entirely neglected for many years...

Pain and activities of daily living (ADLs) deficits are common problems among elderly people who visit general practitioners (GPs). To examine whether the probability of visiting a GP is related to deficits in ADLs and pain, and whether these factors act synergistically towards GP visits. A total of 3097 subjects aged ≥65 years from the Austrian He...

The aim of the present study was to assess the prevalence and resistance of commensal S. aureus in the nasal microbiota of community-dwelling persons in Austria, as well as to identify possible associations with socio-demographic factors. Multi-drug resistance in this population was additionally studied. This cross-sectional study was conducted wit...

Background The evidence regarding oral contraceptives and its effectiveness with concomitant ingestion of antibiotics is conflicting. Until evidence becomes clearer, patients should be aware of this possible interaction. The aim of this study was to assess the knowledge and the source of information about this interaction in GP patients in Austria....

Background: Uganda is one of the 57 countries with a critical shortage of health workers. The aim of this study was to determine how the human resources and health service crisis was covered in Ugandan newspapers and, in particular, how the newspapers attributed accountability for problems in the health services. Methods: We collected all articl...

Background There are many health professionals from abroad working in the European Union and in Austria. The situation of sub-Saharan health workers in particular has now been studied for the first time. The objective was to explore their reasons for migration to Austria, as well as their personal experiences concerning the living and working situa...

Background Chronic pain (CP) and impairments in activities of daily living (ADLs) are common problems for elderly people which lead to dependency, institutionalisation, and health-care costs. The aim of our study was to look for possible positive synergies between pain and limitations in ADLs on the probability to visit a general physician (GP)....

Many low-income and middle-income countries globally are now pursuing ambitious plans for universal primary care, but are failing to deliver adequate care quality because of intractable human resource problems. AIM: To understand why migrant nurses and doctors from sub-Saharan Africa did not wish to take up available posts in primary and first-cont...

The nine Austrian regions differ according to demographic parameter, health status, and health care structure. It was the aim of this study to analyse whether there are also differences in access points towards the level of ambulatory care. The Austrian Health Interview Survey (2006-2007) data with 15,474 participants were used for this cross-secti...

Preventive health check-ups in Austria are offered free of charge to all insured adults (98% of the population) and focus on early detection of chronic diseases, primary prevention, and health counseling. The study aims to explore predictors of compliance with the recommended interval of preventive health check-up performance. Source of data was th...