{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,31]],"date-time":"2026-07-31T20:30:40Z","timestamp":1785529840646,"version":"3.56.0"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Royal College of General Practitioners","issue":"714","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2019,2,12]],"date-time":"2019-02-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1549929600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Br J Gen Pract"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2022,1]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec><jats:title>Background<\/jats:title><jats:p>Gut feelings may be useful when dealing with uncertainty, which is ubiquitous in primary care. Both patients and GPs experience this uncertainty but patients\u2019 views on gut feelings in the consultation have not been explored.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title><jats:p>To explore patients\u2019 perceptions of gut feelings in decision making, and to compare these perceptions with those of GPs.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Design and setting<\/jats:title><jats:p>Qualitative interviews with 21 patients in Oxfordshire, UK.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Method<\/jats:title><jats:p>Patients whose referral to a cancer pathway was based on their GP\u2019s gut feeling were invited to participate. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from November 2019 to January 2020, face to face or over the telephone. Data were analysed with a thematic analysis and mind-mapping approach.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Results<\/jats:title><jats:p>Some patients described experiencing gut feelings about their own health but often their willingness to share this with their GP was dependent on an established doctor\u2013patient relationship. Patients expressed similar perspectives on the use of gut feelings in consultations to those reported by GPs. Patients saw GPs\u2019 gut feelings as grounded in their experience and generalist expertise, and part of a process of evidence gathering. Patients suggested that GPs were justified in using gut feelings because of their role in arranging access to investigations, the difficult \u2018grey area\u2019 of presentations, and the time- and resource-limited nature of primary care. When GPs communicated that they had a gut feeling, some saw this as an indication that they were being taken seriously.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec><jats:sec><jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title><jats:p>Patients accepted that GPs use gut feelings to guide decision making. Future research on this topic should include more diverse samples and address the areas of concern shared by patients and GPs.<\/jats:p><\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3399\/bjgp.2021.0275","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,11,18]],"date-time":"2021-11-18T16:16:07Z","timestamp":1637252167000},"page":"e43-e50","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Building the case for the use of gut feelings in cancer referrals: perspectives of patients referred to a non-specific symptoms pathway"],"prefix":"10.3399","volume":"72","author":[{"given":"Claire Friedemann","family":"Smith","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Benedikte M\u00f8ller","family":"Kristensen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Rikke Sand","family":"Andersen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Sue","family":"Ziebland","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Brian D","family":"Nicholson","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1987","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,9,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"2022011921351577000_72.714.e43.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2296-10-66"},{"key":"2022011921351577000_72.714.e43.2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Friedemann Smith C Drew S Ziebland S Nicholson BD (2020) Understanding the role of GPs\u2019 gut feelings in diagnosing cancer in primary care: a systematic review and meta-analysis of existing evidence. 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