Self-care among physicians and medical students: A literature review

Objectives: The problem of self-referral and self-treatment among physicians is a significant one that has implication for both their health and the quality of care delivered to their patients. The purpose of the presentarticleis to systematically review the literature on this issue from 1990 until 2010. Methods: The relevant databases were searched using the appropriate key words and inclusion/exclusion criteria. Examples of key words included: self-care, health status, personal health care choices, physicians/medical students as patients, self-treatment, illness behaviour, self-prescription, health care seeking behaviour, and attitudes to health. The Searched databases include PubMed, PsychInfo, EBSCO, Medline, BioMed central and Science Direct. Results: Only twenty studies were identified, and the majority of studies were cross-sectional. Studies wereanalysed in terms of study design, methodology, response rates and significant outcomes. Conclusions: The identified literature indicated that large percentages of both physicians and medical students engage in high levels of both inappropriate self-treatment and self-prescription. The review discusses in the detail the reasons why physicians and medical students engage in such behaviours. Finally, the review evaluates the impact of such behaviours from an organisational and educational perspective.