چکیده (انگلیسی):

Background:Knowledge of patient’s reasons for encounter is useful to inform health service planning and health
professional education. Our aim was to describe reasons for encounter as stated by an unselected group of young
people attending primary care practices in the French-speaking part of Switzerland.
Methods:Consecutive patients aged between 15 and 24 years were recruited as part of the PRISM-Ado trial (n = 594).
They completed an anonymous questionnaire in the waiting room, including their main reason for encounter (free
text). Reasons for encounter were coded using ICPC-2 classification and analyzed according to sex, age and living in a
rural or urban area.
Results:95 % of questionnaires contained valid data about reasons for encounter (n = 567). General and unspecific (A)
reasons were the most common in boys (44 %) and girls (42 %), followed by respiratory, musculoskeletal, dermatological
and psychological reasons. Psychological reasons were more frequent in girls attending urban practices; musculoskeletal
and dermatological reasons were more frequent in rural areas. Sexually transmitted infections or substance use were very
rarely stated as a reason for encounter.
Conclusions:This is the first study describing reasons for encounter as stated by young people themselves in primary
care in Switzerland. These findings provide useful guidance for family doctors training and health service planning in
Europe.
Trial registration:Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12608000432314.