{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,18]],"date-time":"2026-08-18T05:14:56Z","timestamp":1787030096380,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":36,"publisher":"Royal College of General Practitioners","issue":"661","content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Br J Gen Pract"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2017,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Background<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Patients with long-lasting and disabling medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS) are common in general practice. GPs have previously described the challenges regarding management and treatment of patients with MUPS.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Aim<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>To explore GPs\u2019 experiences of the strategies perceived as helpful when seeing patients with MUPS.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Design and setting<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Three focus group interviews with a purposive sample of 24 experienced GPs were held in southern Norway.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Method<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Discussions were audiotaped and transcribed. Systematic text condensation was used for analysis.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Results<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>Several strategies were considered helpful during consultations with patients with MUPS. A comprehensive outline of the patient\u2019s medical past and present could serve as the foundation of the dialogue. Reviewing the patient\u2019s records and sharing relevant information with them or conducting a thorough clinical examination could offer \u2018golden moments\u2019 of trust and common understanding. A very concrete exchange of symptoms and diagnosis interpretation sometimes created a space for explanations and action, and confrontations could even strengthen the alliance between the GP and the patient. Bypassing conventional answers and transcending tensions by negotiating innovative explanations could help patients resolve symptoms and establish innovative understanding.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>GPs use tangible, down-to-earth strategies in consultations with patients with MUPS. Important strategies were: thorough investigation of the patient\u2019s symptoms and story; sharing of interpretations; and negotiation of different explanations. Sharing helpful strategies with colleagues in a field in which frustration and dissatisfaction are not uncommon can encourage GPs to develop sustainable responsibility and innovative solutions.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3399\/bjgp17x691697","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2017,7,3]],"date-time":"2017-07-03T20:55:29Z","timestamp":1499115329000},"page":"e572-e579","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":16,"title":["Helpful strategies for GPs seeing patients with medically unexplained physical symptoms: a focus group study"],"prefix":"10.3399","volume":"67","author":[{"given":"Aase","family":"Aamland","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Anette","family":"Fosse","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eline","family":"Ree","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Eirik","family":"Abildsnes","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Kirsti","family":"Malterud","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1987","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2017,7,3]]},"reference":[{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.303.6802.534"},{"issue":"488","key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.2","first-page":"231","article-title":"Beyond somatisation: a review of the understanding and treatment of medically unexplained physical symptoms (MUPS)","volume":"53","author":"Burton","year":"2003","journal-title":"Br J Gen Pract"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.jpsychores.2009.09.004"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1192\/bjp.184.6.470"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1186\/1471-2296-15-107"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0163-8343(00)00060-8"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0277-9536(02)00520-8"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/S0022-3999(01)00223-9"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmj.j268"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1176\/appi.psy.43.2.93"},{"issue":"5","key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.11","first-page":"222","article-title":"NHG-Standaard Somatisch Onvoldoende verklaarde Lichamelijke Klachten (SOLK) [NHG guideline on medically unexplained symptoms (MUS)]","volume":"56","author":"olde Hartman","year":"2013","journal-title":"Huisarts Wet"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.12","unstructured":"Chitnis A Dowrick C Byng R Guidance for health professionals on medically unexplained symptoms (MUS), http:\/\/www.rcpsych.ac.uk\/pdf\/CHECKEDMUSGuidance_A4_4pp_6.pdf (accessed 9 Jun 2017)."},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3109\/0142159X.2012.660219"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1136\/bmjopen-2015-009593"},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.15","unstructured":"Sch\u00f6n DA (1983) The reflective practitioner: how professionals think in action (Basic Books, New York)."},{"key":"2020081209303713000_67.661.e572.16","unstructured":"Polanyi M (1983) The tacit dimension. 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