General practitioners’ role in safeguarding patients with dementia in their use of dietary supplements. A qualitative study

Figures & data

Table 1. Characteristics of the informants (n = 14).

Characteristics	Categories	Number^a or mean (range)^b
Gender	Female/male	7/7^a
Age	40 years	4^a
	40-55 years	6^a
	>55 years	4^a
Birthplace	Norway/abroad	10/4^a
Medical degree from	Norway/abroad	9/5^a
Workplace*	Urban/rural	6/6^a
Work experience as GP	Years, mean (range)	15.5 (1-36)^b
Practice list size	Number of patients, mean (range)	906 (450-1,500)^b

* Rural was defined as a municipality of <50,000 inhabitants.

GP: General practitioner.

Table 2. Main themes and subthemes extracted from the interviews with the GPs.

Main theme	Experience of risks from DS	Self-perception of professional role	External factors challenging the caretaking of patients with dementia who use DS	Suggestions on how to improve safety of patients with dementia who use DS
Subthemes associated with each main theme	Direct risk	Attitudes towards DS	Lack of available product information	Specific suggestions for improvements
	Indirect risk related to dementia symptoms	Unawareness of DS use	Lack of time	Ambivalence regarding the automated drug dispensing system
		Unclear lines of responsibility	Lack of sufficient tools
		Professional role understanding	Insufficient laws and regulations

DS: dietary supplements, GP: general practitioner.