Table 4

Proportion of GPs in Sweden and Norway, respectively, who perceived different sickness certification tasks and situations as problematic

Proportion of GPs that generally find it very problematic or fairly problematic to:

Sweden (n = 3949)

Norway (n = 221)

Proportional diff¹.

Mean diff¹.

p Value²

. . . assess the optimum duration and degree of sickness absence.

69.1

71.4

0.97

-2.3

0.487

. . . provide a long-term prognosis about the future work capacity of patients on sick leave.

77.3

72.3

1.07

5.0

0.087

. . . handle sickness certification of patients.

59.9*

52.5*

1.14

7.4

0.030

. . . assess the degree to which of the reduced functional capacity limits patient's work capacity.

80.6*

67.9*

1.19

12.7

0.000

... discuss with the patient the advantages and disadvantages of being on sick leave.

40.5*

31.1*

1.30

9.4

0.005

... manage the two roles as the patient's treating physician and a medical expert for the social insurance office and other authorities.

64.5*

52.3*

1.23

12.2

0.000

... decide whether to certify a prolongation of a sick-leave period initially certified by another physician.

69.5*

30.9*

2.25

38.6

0.000

... handle situations in which you and your patient have different opinions about the need for sickness leave.

61.1*

74.7*

0.82

-13.6

0.000

¹Differences between groups reported as proportional difference and mean difference

²P-values for mean difference calculated using the Mann-Whitney test

*p = < 0.01 (in bold)

Winde et al. BMC Family Practice 2012 13:10   doi:10.1186/1471-2296-13-10