Are primary-care physician practices related to health behaviors likely to reduce social inequalities in health?

Abstract Our objective was to examine patients' health behaviors and the related practices of their primary-care physicians to determine whether physicians' actions might help to reduce the social inequalities in health behaviors among their patients. Fifty-two general practitioners, who were also medical school instructors in the Parisian area, volunteered to participate. A sample of 70 patients (stratified by sex) aged 40–70 years was randomly chosen from each physician's patient panel and asked to complete a questionnaire about their social position and health behaviors: tobacco and alcohol use, diet, physical activity, and participation in breast and cervical cancer screening. Each phys…