Pub Date : 2015-12-01DOI: 10.1017/S1463423615000559
L. Tahaineh, S. Barakat, A. Albsoul-Younes, Ola Khalifeh
Aim This study was designed to investigate primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in a primary care setting in Jordan. Methods Adult patients without clinical cardiovascular disease who attended a primary care setting were interviewed and their medical files were reviewed. Data collected to assess primary prevention of cardiovascular disease included lifestyle/risk factor screening, weight assessment, blood pressure measurement and control, and blood lipid measurement and control. Results A total of 224 patients were interviewed. The proportions of patients’ files with risk factors documentation were 37.9% for smoking status, 30.4% for physical activity assessment and 72.8% for blood pressure assessment. The majority of hypertensive patients (95.9%) had a blood pressure reading at their most recent visit of ⩽140/90 or was prescribed ⩾2 antihypertensive medications. Conclusion Documentation of cardiovascular disease risk factors was suboptimal. Healthcare providers should be encouraged to document and assess cardiovascular risk factors to improve primary prevention.
{"title":"Primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in a primary care setting","authors":"L. Tahaineh, S. Barakat, A. Albsoul-Younes, Ola Khalifeh","doi":"10.1017/S1463423615000559","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423615000559","url":null,"abstract":"Aim This study was designed to investigate primary prevention of cardiovascular disease in a primary care setting in Jordan. Methods Adult patients without clinical cardiovascular disease who attended a primary care setting were interviewed and their medical files were reviewed. Data collected to assess primary prevention of cardiovascular disease included lifestyle/risk factor screening, weight assessment, blood pressure measurement and control, and blood lipid measurement and control. Results A total of 224 patients were interviewed. The proportions of patients’ files with risk factors documentation were 37.9% for smoking status, 30.4% for physical activity assessment and 72.8% for blood pressure assessment. The majority of hypertensive patients (95.9%) had a blood pressure reading at their most recent visit of ⩽140/90 or was prescribed ⩾2 antihypertensive medications. Conclusion Documentation of cardiovascular disease risk factors was suboptimal. Healthcare providers should be encouraged to document and assess cardiovascular risk factors to improve primary prevention.","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"82089725","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-12-01DOI: 10.1017/S1463423615000560
A. Lagerin, L. Törnkvist, Ingrid Hylander
Aims This study had two aims: to describe the dialogue between district nurses (DNs) and older people in preventive home visits (PHVs) from the perspective of the DNs, and to identify barriers to and facilitators of this dialogue as perceived by the DNs. Background The number of older people is rapidly increasing in all western countries, and as people’s age increases, the probability that they will have multiple diseases also increases. Planned actions are therefore needed to promote health and prevent diseases among older people so they can remain in good health and live in their homes for as long as possible. In Sweden, PHVs to 75-year-olds by DNs are one such action. Methods This qualitative study included five group interviews with 20 DNs. Data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Findings DNs’ experiences of barriers to and facilitators of a successful health dialogue were sorted into five domains. Together, these domains provided a systematic description of the interaction between the DN and the older person in the PHV. The domains included: establishing trustful contact, conducting a structured interview, making an overall assessment, proposing health-promoting activities and offering follow-up. The barriers and facilitators could be related to the older person, the DN or the home environment. The latent content of the interviews was evident in three themes that were related to the DNs’ experiences of barriers and facilitators. These themes illustrated professional dilemmas that the DNs had to resolve to achieve the purpose of the PHV. The study demonstrates that the interaction between a DN and an older person in a PHV can be described as a complex social process in which the DN balances a personal and professional approach, combines a person-oriented and a task-oriented approach and employs both a salutogenic and pathogenic perspective.
{"title":"District nurses’ experiences of preventive home visits to 75-year-olds in Stockholm: a qualitative study","authors":"A. Lagerin, L. Törnkvist, Ingrid Hylander","doi":"10.1017/S1463423615000560","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423615000560","url":null,"abstract":"Aims This study had two aims: to describe the dialogue between district nurses (DNs) and older people in preventive home visits (PHVs) from the perspective of the DNs, and to identify barriers to and facilitators of this dialogue as perceived by the DNs. Background The number of older people is rapidly increasing in all western countries, and as people’s age increases, the probability that they will have multiple diseases also increases. Planned actions are therefore needed to promote health and prevent diseases among older people so they can remain in good health and live in their homes for as long as possible. In Sweden, PHVs to 75-year-olds by DNs are one such action. Methods This qualitative study included five group interviews with 20 DNs. Data were analysed with qualitative content analysis. Findings DNs’ experiences of barriers to and facilitators of a successful health dialogue were sorted into five domains. Together, these domains provided a systematic description of the interaction between the DN and the older person in the PHV. The domains included: establishing trustful contact, conducting a structured interview, making an overall assessment, proposing health-promoting activities and offering follow-up. The barriers and facilitators could be related to the older person, the DN or the home environment. The latent content of the interviews was evident in three themes that were related to the DNs’ experiences of barriers and facilitators. These themes illustrated professional dilemmas that the DNs had to resolve to achieve the purpose of the PHV. The study demonstrates that the interaction between a DN and an older person in a PHV can be described as a complex social process in which the DN balances a personal and professional approach, combines a person-oriented and a task-oriented approach and employs both a salutogenic and pathogenic perspective.","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89016865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-11-23DOI: 10.1017/S1463423615000535
S. Jahan, A. Al-Saigul, A. A. Suliman
Aim To investigate primary health care (PHC) physicians’ attitudes to statistics, their self-reported knowledge level, and their perceived training needs in statistics. Background In spite of realization of the importance of statistics, inadequacies in physicians’ knowledge and skills have been found, underscoring the need for in-service training. Understanding physicians’ attitudes to statistics is vital in planning statistics training. Methods The study was based on theory of planned behavior. A cross-sectional survey of all PHC physicians was conducted in Qassim province, from August to October 2014. Attitudes to statistics were determined by a self-administered questionnaire. The attitudes were assessed on four subscales including general perceptions; perceptions of knowledge and training; perceptions of statistics and evidence-based medicine; and perceptions of future learning. Findings Of 416 eligible participants, 338 (81.25%) responded to the survey. On a scale of 1–10, the majority (73.6%) of the participants self-assessed their level of statistics knowledge as five or below. The attitude scores could have a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 100, with higher scores showing a positive attitude. The participants showed a positive attitude with the mean score of 71.14 (±7.73). Out of the four subscales, ‘perceptions of statistics and evidence-based medicine’ subscale scored the highest, followed by ‘perceptions of future learning’. Conclusion PHC physicians have a positive attitude to statistics. However, they realize their gaps in knowledge in statistics, and are keen to fill these gaps. Statistics training, resulting in improved statistics knowledge is expected to lead to clinical care utilizing evidence-based medicine, and thus improvement to health care services.
{"title":"Attitudes to statistics in primary health care physicians, Qassim province","authors":"S. Jahan, A. Al-Saigul, A. A. Suliman","doi":"10.1017/S1463423615000535","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423615000535","url":null,"abstract":"Aim To investigate primary health care (PHC) physicians’ attitudes to statistics, their self-reported knowledge level, and their perceived training needs in statistics. Background In spite of realization of the importance of statistics, inadequacies in physicians’ knowledge and skills have been found, underscoring the need for in-service training. Understanding physicians’ attitudes to statistics is vital in planning statistics training. Methods The study was based on theory of planned behavior. A cross-sectional survey of all PHC physicians was conducted in Qassim province, from August to October 2014. Attitudes to statistics were determined by a self-administered questionnaire. The attitudes were assessed on four subscales including general perceptions; perceptions of knowledge and training; perceptions of statistics and evidence-based medicine; and perceptions of future learning. Findings Of 416 eligible participants, 338 (81.25%) responded to the survey. On a scale of 1–10, the majority (73.6%) of the participants self-assessed their level of statistics knowledge as five or below. The attitude scores could have a minimum of 20 and a maximum of 100, with higher scores showing a positive attitude. The participants showed a positive attitude with the mean score of 71.14 (±7.73). Out of the four subscales, ‘perceptions of statistics and evidence-based medicine’ subscale scored the highest, followed by ‘perceptions of future learning’. Conclusion PHC physicians have a positive attitude to statistics. However, they realize their gaps in knowledge in statistics, and are keen to fill these gaps. Statistics training, resulting in improved statistics knowledge is expected to lead to clinical care utilizing evidence-based medicine, and thus improvement to health care services.","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"85705388","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-11-23DOI: 10.1017/S1463423615000547
Virpi Maijala, K. Tossavainen, H. Turunen
Aim This study aimed to identify and reach consensus among primary health care participants [registered nurses (RNs) who receive clients, directors of nursing, senior physicians, health promotion officers, and local councillors] on the types of service provider that RNs who receive clients represent in the implementation of health promotion practices in primary health care in Eastern Finland. Background There is an increasing focus on public health thinking in many countries as the population ages. To meet the growing needs of the health promotion practices of populations, advance practice has been recognized as effective in the primary health care setting. The advance practice nurses share many common features, such as being RNs with additional education, possessing competencies to work independently, treating clients in both acute and primary care settings, and applying a variety of health promotion practices into nursing. Methods The two-stage modified Delphi method was applied. In round one, semi-structured interviews were conducted among primary health care participants (n=42) in 11 health centres in Eastern Finland. In round two, a questionnaire survey was conducted in the same health centres. The questionnaire was answered by 64% of those surveyed (n=56). For data analysis, content analysis and descriptive statistics were used. Findings This study resulted in four types of service provider that RNs who receive clients represented in the implementation of health promotion practices in the primary health care setting in Eastern Finland. First, the client-oriented health promoter demonstrated four dimensions, which reached consensus levels ranging between 82.1 and 89.3%. Second, the developer of health promotion practices comprised four dimensions, which reached consensus levels between 71.4 and 85.7%. Third, the member of multi-professional teams of health promotion practices representing three dimensions, with consensus levels between 69.6 and 82.1%. Fourth, the type who showed interest towards health policy reached a consensus level of 55.4% in this study.
{"title":"Primary health care registered nurses’ types in implementation of health promotion practices","authors":"Virpi Maijala, K. Tossavainen, H. Turunen","doi":"10.1017/S1463423615000547","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423615000547","url":null,"abstract":"Aim This study aimed to identify and reach consensus among primary health care participants [registered nurses (RNs) who receive clients, directors of nursing, senior physicians, health promotion officers, and local councillors] on the types of service provider that RNs who receive clients represent in the implementation of health promotion practices in primary health care in Eastern Finland. Background There is an increasing focus on public health thinking in many countries as the population ages. To meet the growing needs of the health promotion practices of populations, advance practice has been recognized as effective in the primary health care setting. The advance practice nurses share many common features, such as being RNs with additional education, possessing competencies to work independently, treating clients in both acute and primary care settings, and applying a variety of health promotion practices into nursing. Methods The two-stage modified Delphi method was applied. In round one, semi-structured interviews were conducted among primary health care participants (n=42) in 11 health centres in Eastern Finland. In round two, a questionnaire survey was conducted in the same health centres. The questionnaire was answered by 64% of those surveyed (n=56). For data analysis, content analysis and descriptive statistics were used. Findings This study resulted in four types of service provider that RNs who receive clients represented in the implementation of health promotion practices in the primary health care setting in Eastern Finland. First, the client-oriented health promoter demonstrated four dimensions, which reached consensus levels ranging between 82.1 and 89.3%. Second, the developer of health promotion practices comprised four dimensions, which reached consensus levels between 71.4 and 85.7%. Third, the member of multi-professional teams of health promotion practices representing three dimensions, with consensus levels between 69.6 and 82.1%. Fourth, the type who showed interest towards health policy reached a consensus level of 55.4% in this study.","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"84562488","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-11-20DOI: 10.1017/S1463423615000523
Alexandros Maragakis, R. Siddharthan, J. Rachbeisel, Cassandra Snipes
Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) are more likely to experience preventable medical health issues, such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, than the general population. To further compound this issue, these individuals are less likely to seek preventative medical care. These factors result in higher usage of expensive emergency care, lower quality of care, and lower life expectancy. This manuscript presents literature that examines the health disparities this population experiences, and barriers to accessing primary care. Through the identification of these barriers, we recommend that the field of family medicine work in collaboration with the field of mental health to implement ‘reverse’ integrated care (RIC) systems, and provide primary care services in the mental health settings. By embedding primary care practitioners in mental health settings, where individuals with SMI are more likely to present for treatment, this population may receive treatment for somatic care by experts. This not only would improve the quality of care received by patients, but would also remove the burden of managing complex somatic care from providers trained in mental health. The rationale for this RIC system, as well as training and policy reforms, are discussed.
{"title":"Creating a ‘reverse’ integrated primary and mental healthcare clinic for those with serious mental illness","authors":"Alexandros Maragakis, R. Siddharthan, J. Rachbeisel, Cassandra Snipes","doi":"10.1017/S1463423615000523","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423615000523","url":null,"abstract":"Individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) are more likely to experience preventable medical health issues, such as diabetes, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and cardiovascular disease, than the general population. To further compound this issue, these individuals are less likely to seek preventative medical care. These factors result in higher usage of expensive emergency care, lower quality of care, and lower life expectancy. This manuscript presents literature that examines the health disparities this population experiences, and barriers to accessing primary care. Through the identification of these barriers, we recommend that the field of family medicine work in collaboration with the field of mental health to implement ‘reverse’ integrated care (RIC) systems, and provide primary care services in the mental health settings. By embedding primary care practitioners in mental health settings, where individuals with SMI are more likely to present for treatment, this population may receive treatment for somatic care by experts. This not only would improve the quality of care received by patients, but would also remove the burden of managing complex somatic care from providers trained in mental health. The rationale for this RIC system, as well as training and policy reforms, are discussed.","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"89489123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-11-20DOI: 10.1017/S1463423615000511
B. Docherty, N. Sheridan, T. Kenealy
Aim To identify shortcomings in existing models of patient behaviour change, and present the development and testing of a novel approach using practitioner facilitation and person-focussed conversations that identifies and addresses behaviours at an earlier stage than current models. Background Systematic strategies used by health professionals to change patient behaviours began with motivational interviewing and brief intervention approaches for serious addictive behaviours. Practitioners typically presume they should drive the process of patient behaviour change. Attempts to transfer these approaches to primary care, and a broader range of health risk behaviours, have been less successful. The TADS programme (Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs, later Training and Development Services) began teaching motivational interviewing and brief interventions to practitioners in New Zealand in 1996. Formal and informal evaluations showed that practitioners used screening tools that patients rejected and that led to incomplete disclosure, used language that did not engage patients, failed to identify the behaviours patients wished to address and therefore misdirected interventions. Methods Iterative development of new tools with input from patients and primary care clinicians. Findings The TADS programme developed a questionnaire whose results remained private to the patient, which enabled the patient to identify personal behaviours that they might choose to change (the TADS Personal Assessment Choice Tool). This was assisted by a brief conversation that facilitated and supported any change prioritised by the patient (the TADS Brief Opportunistic Interaction). The need for this approach, and its effectiveness, appeared to be similar across adults, youth, different ethnic groups and people in different socio-economic circumstances. Behaviours patients identified were often linked to other health risk behaviours or early-stage mental health disorders that were not easily detected by practitioner-driven screening or inquiry. The long-term effectiveness of this approach in different populations in primary health care settings requires further evaluation.
{"title":"Developing Brief Opportunistic Interactions: practitioners facilitate patients to identify and change health risk behaviours at an early preventive stage","authors":"B. Docherty, N. Sheridan, T. Kenealy","doi":"10.1017/S1463423615000511","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423615000511","url":null,"abstract":"Aim To identify shortcomings in existing models of patient behaviour change, and present the development and testing of a novel approach using practitioner facilitation and person-focussed conversations that identifies and addresses behaviours at an earlier stage than current models. Background Systematic strategies used by health professionals to change patient behaviours began with motivational interviewing and brief intervention approaches for serious addictive behaviours. Practitioners typically presume they should drive the process of patient behaviour change. Attempts to transfer these approaches to primary care, and a broader range of health risk behaviours, have been less successful. The TADS programme (Tobacco, Alcohol and Other Drugs, later Training and Development Services) began teaching motivational interviewing and brief interventions to practitioners in New Zealand in 1996. Formal and informal evaluations showed that practitioners used screening tools that patients rejected and that led to incomplete disclosure, used language that did not engage patients, failed to identify the behaviours patients wished to address and therefore misdirected interventions. Methods Iterative development of new tools with input from patients and primary care clinicians. Findings The TADS programme developed a questionnaire whose results remained private to the patient, which enabled the patient to identify personal behaviours that they might choose to change (the TADS Personal Assessment Choice Tool). This was assisted by a brief conversation that facilitated and supported any change prioritised by the patient (the TADS Brief Opportunistic Interaction). The need for this approach, and its effectiveness, appeared to be similar across adults, youth, different ethnic groups and people in different socio-economic circumstances. Behaviours patients identified were often linked to other health risk behaviours or early-stage mental health disorders that were not easily detected by practitioner-driven screening or inquiry. The long-term effectiveness of this approach in different populations in primary health care settings requires further evaluation.","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80400948","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-11-17DOI: 10.1017/S146342361500050X
F. Boyle, Julie H. Dean, Charlotte E. Young, Allyson Mutch
Aim Consumer health organisations (CHOs) are non-profit or voluntary sector organisations that promote and represent the interests of patients and carers affected by particular conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine, among patients with chronic disease, what differentiates those who contact CHOs from those who do not and what stops people from making contact. Background CHOs can enhance people’s capacity to manage chronic disease by providing information, education and psychosocial support, but are under-utilised. Little is known about barriers to access. Methods Data were from a baseline telephone survey conducted as part of a randomised trial of an intervention to improve access to CHOs. Participants constituted a consecutive sample of 276 adults with diagnosed chronic disease recruited via 18 general practitioners in Brisbane, Australia. Quantitative survey items examined participants’ use and perceptions of CHOs and a single open-ended question explored barriers to CHO use. Multiple logistic regression and thematic analysis were used. Findings Overall, 39% of participants had ever contacted a CHO for their health and 28% had contacted a CHO specifically focussed on their diagnosed chronic condition. Diabetes, poorer self-reported physical health and greater health system contact were significantly associated with CHO contact. The view that ‘my doctor does it all’ was prevalent and, together with a belief that their health problems were ‘not serious enough’, was the primary reason patients did not make contact. Conclusion Attitudinal and system-related barriers limit use of CHOs by those for whom they are designed. Developing referral pathways to CHOs and promoting awareness about what they offer is needed to improve access.
{"title":"Why do people with chronic disease not contact consumer health organisations? A survey of general practice patients","authors":"F. Boyle, Julie H. Dean, Charlotte E. Young, Allyson Mutch","doi":"10.1017/S146342361500050X","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S146342361500050X","url":null,"abstract":"Aim Consumer health organisations (CHOs) are non-profit or voluntary sector organisations that promote and represent the interests of patients and carers affected by particular conditions. The purpose of this study was to examine, among patients with chronic disease, what differentiates those who contact CHOs from those who do not and what stops people from making contact. Background CHOs can enhance people’s capacity to manage chronic disease by providing information, education and psychosocial support, but are under-utilised. Little is known about barriers to access. Methods Data were from a baseline telephone survey conducted as part of a randomised trial of an intervention to improve access to CHOs. Participants constituted a consecutive sample of 276 adults with diagnosed chronic disease recruited via 18 general practitioners in Brisbane, Australia. Quantitative survey items examined participants’ use and perceptions of CHOs and a single open-ended question explored barriers to CHO use. Multiple logistic regression and thematic analysis were used. Findings Overall, 39% of participants had ever contacted a CHO for their health and 28% had contacted a CHO specifically focussed on their diagnosed chronic condition. Diabetes, poorer self-reported physical health and greater health system contact were significantly associated with CHO contact. The view that ‘my doctor does it all’ was prevalent and, together with a belief that their health problems were ‘not serious enough’, was the primary reason patients did not make contact. Conclusion Attitudinal and system-related barriers limit use of CHOs by those for whom they are designed. Developing referral pathways to CHOs and promoting awareness about what they offer is needed to improve access.","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"87584206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-11-02DOI: 10.1017/S1463423615000493
J. Krska, R. du Plessis, Hannah Chellaswamy
Aim To evaluate NHS Health Check implementation in terms of frequency of data recording, advice provided, referrals to community-based lifestyle support services, statin prescribing and new diagnoses, and to assess variation in these aspects between practices and health professionals involved in delivery. Background Most NHS Health Checks are delivered by general practices, but little detail is known about the extent of variation in how they are delivered in different practices and by different health professionals. Methods This was an observational study conducted in a purposively selected sample of 13 practices in Sefton, North West England. Practices used previously recorded information from their clinical management systems to identify patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk ⩾20%, a potentially cost-effective approach. The evaluation was conducted during the first year of delivery in Sefton. Data were extracted from medical records of all patients identified, regardless of Health Check attendance. Findings Of the 2892 patients identified by the 13 practices, 1070 had received an NHS Health Check at the time of the study. Of these, only 936 (87.5%) had a recorded CVD risk score, with risk ⩾20% confirmed in 92.0%. Estimated risk category was correct in 456/677 (67.4%) of patients with estimated and actual risk scores. Significant variation was found between practices and health professionals in parameters recorded, tests requested, advice given and referrals for lifestyle support. Only 45.3% of patients had body mass index, smoking, alcohol, exercise, blood pressure and cholesterol all recorded. Lifestyle advice and referral into lifestyle services were documented in 80.6% and 6.4% of attenders, respectively, again with significant variation between practices and professionals. Statin prescribing rose in attenders from 19.6% to 34.6%. A similar proportion of attenders and non-attenders received new diagnoses. Conclusion Effort is required to reduce variation in how practices deliver and follow-up NHS Health Checks, to ensure the consistency of the programme.
{"title":"Implementation of NHS Health Checks in general practice: variation in delivery between practices and practitioners","authors":"J. Krska, R. du Plessis, Hannah Chellaswamy","doi":"10.1017/S1463423615000493","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423615000493","url":null,"abstract":"Aim To evaluate NHS Health Check implementation in terms of frequency of data recording, advice provided, referrals to community-based lifestyle support services, statin prescribing and new diagnoses, and to assess variation in these aspects between practices and health professionals involved in delivery. Background Most NHS Health Checks are delivered by general practices, but little detail is known about the extent of variation in how they are delivered in different practices and by different health professionals. Methods This was an observational study conducted in a purposively selected sample of 13 practices in Sefton, North West England. Practices used previously recorded information from their clinical management systems to identify patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk ⩾20%, a potentially cost-effective approach. The evaluation was conducted during the first year of delivery in Sefton. Data were extracted from medical records of all patients identified, regardless of Health Check attendance. Findings Of the 2892 patients identified by the 13 practices, 1070 had received an NHS Health Check at the time of the study. Of these, only 936 (87.5%) had a recorded CVD risk score, with risk ⩾20% confirmed in 92.0%. Estimated risk category was correct in 456/677 (67.4%) of patients with estimated and actual risk scores. Significant variation was found between practices and health professionals in parameters recorded, tests requested, advice given and referrals for lifestyle support. Only 45.3% of patients had body mass index, smoking, alcohol, exercise, blood pressure and cholesterol all recorded. Lifestyle advice and referral into lifestyle services were documented in 80.6% and 6.4% of attenders, respectively, again with significant variation between practices and professionals. Statin prescribing rose in attenders from 19.6% to 34.6%. A similar proportion of attenders and non-attenders received new diagnoses. Conclusion Effort is required to reduce variation in how practices deliver and follow-up NHS Health Checks, to ensure the consistency of the programme.","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"88653052","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-11-01DOI: 10.1017/s146342361500047x
{"title":"Acknowledgement to our reviewers of Volume 16 (2015)","authors":"","doi":"10.1017/s146342361500047x","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/s146342361500047x","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"78150731","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2015-07-30DOI: 10.1017/S1463423615000365
Lisa M. Hooper, S. Tomek, D. Roter, K. Carson, George C. T. Mugoya, L. Cooper
Background The depth and breadth of problems related to depressive symptomatology and optimal treatment outcomes, including medication treatment adherence, have long been documented in the literature. Missing are clear explanations as to what factors and patient characteristics may account for lack of medication treatment adherence. Objectives The two objectives of the current study were to examine the predictive strength of depression, patient characteristics, and patient attachment style regarding medication treatment adherence and to consider the extent to which attachment styles mediate the relation between depression and medication treatment adherence. Method Participants in the present study were 237 racially diverse American primary care patients with a diagnosis of hypertension who were participants in a clinical trial. Depression, patient characteristics, attachment style, and medication treatment adherence were assessed. Results Partly consistent with our four hypotheses, the following results were found: (a) Black American, younger, never married, and poorer patients had lower medication treatment adherence (b) depression was significantly associated with lower self-reported medication adherence; (c) insecure–dismissing attachment style was related to lower medication adherence; and (d) insecure–dismissing attachment style mediates the relation between depression and medication treatment adherence by exacerbating the negative association. Conclusion Physicians and other primary care providers should consider how depressive symptomatology, patient characteristics, and attachment style may inform the treatment plans they put forward and the extent to which patients may adhere to those treatment plans.
{"title":"Depression, patient characteristics, and attachment style: correlates and mediators of medication treatment adherence in a racially diverse primary care sample","authors":"Lisa M. Hooper, S. Tomek, D. Roter, K. Carson, George C. T. Mugoya, L. Cooper","doi":"10.1017/S1463423615000365","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1017/S1463423615000365","url":null,"abstract":"Background The depth and breadth of problems related to depressive symptomatology and optimal treatment outcomes, including medication treatment adherence, have long been documented in the literature. Missing are clear explanations as to what factors and patient characteristics may account for lack of medication treatment adherence. Objectives The two objectives of the current study were to examine the predictive strength of depression, patient characteristics, and patient attachment style regarding medication treatment adherence and to consider the extent to which attachment styles mediate the relation between depression and medication treatment adherence. Method Participants in the present study were 237 racially diverse American primary care patients with a diagnosis of hypertension who were participants in a clinical trial. Depression, patient characteristics, attachment style, and medication treatment adherence were assessed. Results Partly consistent with our four hypotheses, the following results were found: (a) Black American, younger, never married, and poorer patients had lower medication treatment adherence (b) depression was significantly associated with lower self-reported medication adherence; (c) insecure–dismissing attachment style was related to lower medication adherence; and (d) insecure–dismissing attachment style mediates the relation between depression and medication treatment adherence by exacerbating the negative association. Conclusion Physicians and other primary care providers should consider how depressive symptomatology, patient characteristics, and attachment style may inform the treatment plans they put forward and the extent to which patients may adhere to those treatment plans.","PeriodicalId":20471,"journal":{"name":"Primary Health Care Research & Development","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2015-07-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"80036554","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}