„Das Dringliche schlägt oft das Wichtige“

General practitioners (GPs) are the first point of contact for many people when it comes to questions about their health. There are many ways to promote health and increase health literacy during patient consultations. In Austria, little is known about the methods and information that GPs use for this. The question of what GPs need in order to be able to implement more health promotion measures and increase the health literacy of their patients was therefore investigated.

A mix of methods was used to answer the question: in addition to three interviews with experts (Medical Association and Society for General Practice), an online questionnaire (n = 268) and qualitative interviews (n = 10) with GPs in Austria were conducted.

The GPs included in the study consider health promotion and health literacy to be important and are already implementing many measures. However, the biggest hurdle for them is a lack of time and knowledge about available programs and materials.

GPs need more time for health promotion and health literacy of their patients. This time must be rewarded as working time, to support wide implementation. It is also important to establish the GP practice as a health-promoting and health-competent setting and at the same time to promote the health of the physicians and their staff.