Family practice
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Short report: encouraging GPs to complete postal questionnaires--one big prize or many small prizes? A randomized controlled trial.
Low response rates to surveys are a problem in general practice. There is evidence that offering GPs incentives improves response rates to postal questionnaires. However, there is less evidence about the most effective form of incentive. ⋯ This study has established that, among incentives for postal questionnaires, one big prize improves the yield more than many small prizes despite the lower odds of winning. It has also confirmed that offering a modest incentive to GPs generates good response rates for postal questionnaires.
-
Systems for providing primary care outside normal hours have changed significantly in Europe over the last 20 years. The impetus for this change has come almost entirely from the medical profession, and it is important to consider the patients' perspective. Although patient's satisfaction with out-of-hours care has been studied extensively, the effect of patient's health status on satisfaction level has not been examined previously. ⋯ Family doctor co-operatives have significantly altered the way out-of-hours care is delivered. Patients with lower health status are significantly less likely to be satisfied with this new form of out-of-hours care. This finding has important implications for the future planning of out-of-hours primary care services.
-
This paper explores South Asian patients' views and experiences of clinical trial participation, as part of a larger study which sought to assess British South Asian under-representation in clinical trials. ⋯ There are more similarities than differences between the experiences of British South Asians and 'White' trial participants. Present findings suggest that ethnicity operates at different levels. In addition to South Asian trial participants' culture, social class and gender are also as likely to affect their participation in clinical trials. To improve South Asian accrual rates, strategies should be designed to take into consideration linguistic differences and improving overall trust in the clinical trial team.
-
Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Cost-utility analysis of osteopathy in primary care: results from a pragmatic randomized controlled trial.
Spinal pain is common and costly to health services and society. Management guidelines have encouraged primary care referral for spinal manipulation, but the evidence base is weak. More economic evaluations alongside pragmatic trials have been recommended. ⋯ A primary care osteopathy clinic may be a cost-effective addition to usual GP care, but this conclusion was subject to considerable random error. Rigorous multi-centre studies are needed to assess the generalizability of this approach.