The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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Antibiotic prescribing during childhood, most commonly for respiratory tract infections (RTIs), contributes to antimicrobial resistance, which is a major public health concern. ⋯ Socioeconomic status and ethnic background were associated with amoxicillin prescribing during childhood. Efforts to reduce RTI spread in household and childcare settings may reduce antibiotic prescribing in primary care.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Women's information needs around urine testing for urinary tract infections: a qualitative study.
Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the commonest bacterial infections in general practice, with urine testing a frequent feature of its management. Urinary dipsticks are widely used, with urine culture the reference standard test. To avoid contamination, patients are advised to discard the first part of the urine stream, retaining the midstream part for the sample. This process, however, can be challenging both to explain and to perform. There is a lack of literature investigating women's perceptions and understanding of urine sampling. ⋯ Provision of clear information could help provide better urine samples, aiding the diagnosis of UTIs, presenting results with greater clarity, and creating less need for repeat samples. Sharing of information derived from uncontaminated samples may also support better UTI management, helping to reduce unnecessary prescribing and antibiotic resistance.
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GPs are well placed to enhance shared decision making (SDM) about treatment for patients with advanced cancer. However, to date, little is known about GPs' views about their contribution to SDM. ⋯ GPs may support SDM by checking the quality of a decision and by complementing and enabling the SDM process to reach high-quality decisions. This conceptualisation of the GP's supporting role in SDM may help us to understand how SDM is carried out through interprofessional collaboration and provide tools for how to adopt a role in the interprofessional SDM process.
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Little is known about variations in the provision of chronic care services in primary care. ⋯ Chronic care was provided to patients typically in need of health care, that is, older adults, those with multimorbidity, and those with low socioeconomic status, but service provision varied more than expected across practices. GPs provided slightly fewer chronic care services than expected in practices where many patients with multimorbidity and low socioeconomic status were clustered, suggesting inverse care law mechanisms.