Family practice
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As the proportion of women in family medicine increases, their well-being and job satisfaction become concerns. ⋯ Women family physicians around the world are overall satisfied with their careers. However, variation in certain working conditions among countries leaves room for improvement, drawing attention to the need for national review of working environments and pay scales.
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Guidelines for shoulder pain in general practice recommend treatment with corticosteroid injections (CSI) if initial pain management fails. However, little is known about the actual use and safety of CSIs in treatment by general practitioners (GP). ⋯ In contrast to the guidelines, CSIs were frequently administered in the first consultation. Older patients and patients with a history of shoulder pain were more likely to receive a CSI for shoulder pain.
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Primary care consultations for respiratory tract symptoms including identifying and managing COVID-19 during the pandemic have not been characterized. ⋯ During the pandemic, primary care substantially increased consultations for respiratory tract symptoms to identify and manage people with COVID-19. These findings should be balanced against national reports of reduced GP workload for non-COVID care.
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We aimed to describe the use of drugs with apparent efficacy in ambulatory patients with confirmed COVID-19 and the relationship of Google Trends searches with prescriptions and the total number of COVID-19 cases in Mexico City. ⋯ During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a high proportion of prescriptions for hydroxychloroquine/azithromycin and dexamethasone despite their unproven efficacy. Analysis of Google Trends showed a strong correlation between the overall number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and searches for such drugs, suggesting a higher rate of prescriptions. Analysis of online searches could thus help to actively survey public health behaviours in the future.
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Primary healthcare is the ideal setting to address diet-related disease through delivery of nutrition services. However, quality nutrition care has not previously been defined from the healthcare consumer perspective. ⋯ The consumer-derived model of quality nutrition care can be used by providers to inform activities that enhance primary healthcare practice, outcomes, and impact. The model has important implications for primary healthcare system reform and policy. Future research should explore the provision of dietetic services in primary care, with specific focus on factors that influence quality care, and investigate how quality is monitored and improved.