The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners
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To support efforts to increase social prescribing and reduce levels of physical inactivity, parkrun UK and the Royal College of General Practitioners together developed the parkrun practice initiative to link general practices to local parkruns (free, weekly, timed, physical activity events). General practice staff are encouraged to take part in parkrun events themselves and to encourage patients to participate. ⋯ Parkrunners are a diverse population in terms of their physical health. Information provided by this study could be combined with other research on the barriers to participation and successful brief interventions to help address the key issues of primary care clinicians' knowledge and confidence about social prescribing to increase patients' physical activity levels.
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Diagnosis and management of childhood urinary tract infection (UTI) is challenging in general practice because of a range of factors. ⋯ The assumption of a low UTI prevalence, absence of obvious UTI features, and difficult urine sampling might cause childhood UTIs to go undetected in general practice. Diagnostic uncertainty makes appropriate treatment challenging.
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Asymptomatic bacteriuria (ASB) is common among residents of residential aged care facilities (RACFs). However, differentiating between an established urinary tract infection and ASB in older adults is difficult. As a result, the overuse of dipstick urinalysis, as well as the subsequent initiation of antibiotics, is common in RACFs. ⋯ Overall, although antibiotic treatment was associated with bacteriological cure, it was also associated with significantly more adverse effects. The harms and lack of clinical benefit of antibiotic use for older patients in RACFs may outweigh the benefits.
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Meta Analysis
Prevalence of Burnout among General Practitioners: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.
Burnout is a work-related syndrome documented to have negative consequences for GPs and their patients. ⋯ Moderate to high GP burnout exists worldwide. However, substantial variations in how burnout is characterised and operationalised has resulted in considerable heterogeneity in GP burnout prevalence estimates. This highlights the challenge of developing a uniform approach, and the importance of considering GPs' work context to better characterise burnout.
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Good access to primary care is an important determinant of population health. While the academic literature on access to care emphasises its complexity, policies aimed at improving access to general practice in the UK have tended to focus on measurable aspects, such as timeliness or number of appointments. ⋯ An understanding of access as 'human fit' has the potential to address longstanding problems of access within general practice, focusing attention on the need for staff training and support, and emphasising the importance of continuity of care.