To evaluate the effectiveness of motivational interviewing (MI) in improving medication adherence in older patients being treated by polypharmacy. Cluster randomized clinical trial in 16 primary care centers with 27 health care providers and 154 patients. Thirty-two health care providers were assigned to an experimental (EG) or control group (CG). MI training program and review of patient treatments. Providers in the EG carried out MI, whereas those in the CG used an "advice approach". Three follow-up visits were completed, at 15 days and at 3 and 6 months. Medication adherence in both groups was compared (p<0.05). Patients recruited: 70/84 (EG/CG). Mean age: 76 years; female: 68.8%. The proportion of subjects changing to adherence was 7.6% higher in the EG (p<0.001). Therapeutic adherence was higher for patients in the EG (OR=2.84), women (OR=0.24) and those with high educational levels (OR=3.93). A face-to-face motivational approach in primary care helps elderly patients with chronic diseases who are being treated by polypharmacy to achieve an improved level of treatment adherence than traditional strategies of providing information and advice. MI is a patient-centered approach that can be used to improve medication adherence in primary care. This trial is registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01291966).

Aim To estimate the prevalence of alcohol consumption and analyse the drinking patterns among primary healthcare (PHC) providers. Design Observational, cross-sectional, descriptive study. Setting PHC centres in the Spanish National Health System (SNHS). Participants Doctors and nurses who completed an online questionnaire which explored their alcohol intake, using the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) alcohol assessment tool. The study population was recruited by random sampling stratified by regions of the SNHS PHC centres. Primary and secondary outcome measures Frequency of alcohol consumption, number of alcohol drinks on a typical day, frequency of more than six standard drinks (SDs) intake. Results A total of 1760 PHC providers completed the questionnaire. The frequency of alcohol consumption was: abstention (12%, 95% CI 10.4% to 13.5%); one or less SDs/month (26%, 95% CI 23.8% to 27.9%); 2–4 SDs/month (32.2%, 95% CI 29.7% to 34.1%); 2–3 SDs/week (17.9%, 95% CI 16.0% to 19.6%); four or more SDs/week (11.9%, 95% CI 10.3% to 13.3%). The number of drinks on a typical day was: none (45.6%, 95% CI 42.9% to 47.6%); 1–2 drinks (47.3%, 95% CI 23.8% to 27.9%); 3–4 drinks (6.5%, 95% CI 5.3% to 7.6%). The percentage of hazardous drinking, according to AUDIT-C criteria, was 32% (95% CI 26.7 to 37.3), with a greater frequency of intake in older professionals (p<0.001), in contrast to a higher number of drinks consumed on a typical day by younger providers (p<0.001). Intake was higher among males (p<0.001), primary care physicians (p<0.001) and resident trainers (p<0.001). Conclusions Our study discloses the most up-to-date portrait of current alcohol consumption among Spanish PHC providers, showing a higher prevalence of alcohol intake, compared with the general population. Preventive strategies should be implemented to improve the awareness and training of PHC professionals towards alcohol consumption.

Clinical Practice Guidelines recommend using peripheral blood pulse measuring as a screening test for Atrial Fibrillation. However, there is no adequate evidence supporting the efficacy of such procedure in primary care clinical practice. This paper describes a study protocol designed to verify whether early opportunistic screening for Atrial Fibrillation by measuring blood pulse is more effective than regular practice in subjects aged 65 years attending primary care centers.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the Spanish population's knowledge of and beliefs regarding the European Code Against Cancer (ECAC) recommendations. This was a cross-sectional, observational, multicentric study that used self-administered surveys. Ten individuals, between the ages of 15 and 69 years old, were enrolled by each participating primary care professional in their respective surgery consultations. This study used 2058 individuals who were recruited by 205 professionals from 106 health centres. Their average age was 41.5 years (52.2% women). The majority believe that smoking [94.1%; 95% confidence interval (CI): 93.1-95.2], sun exposure (91%; 95% CI: 89.7-92.3) and alcoholism (72.1%; 95% CI: 70.1-74.1) are factors related to cancer. The least relevant are infection by the hepatitis B virus (25.7%; 95% CI: 23.8-27.7) and having multiple sexual partners (25%; 95% CI: 23.1-26.9). In all, 86.7% (95% CI: 85.2-88.2) had never heard about the ECAC. Patients adequately identify the carcinogenic effect of tobacco, alcohol or sun exposure. Moreover, they inadequately identify having hepatitis B and multiple sexual partners as being related to cancer. A large majority of individuals have not heard of the ECAC, which raises the need to conduct outreach campaigns at an institutional level and/or through scientific associations and activities promoting health education among primary care professionals.