The European journal of general practice
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Cancer preventive services (gynaecological cancer screening, colon cancer screening) and cardiometabolic screening are recommended by guidelines to individuals. People with diabetes were less likely to receive them than those without diabetes in some studies. ⋯ People with diabetes reported higher coverage of preventive services except gynaecological cancer screening. Disparities were found in diabetes among women and less affluent individuals.
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eHealth offers opportunities to improve health and healthcare systems and overcome primary care challenges in low-resource settings (LRS). LRS has been typically associated with low- and middle-income countries (LMIC), but they can be found in high-income countries (HIC) when human, physical or financial resources are constrained. Adopting a concept of LRS that applies to LMIC and HIC can facilitate knowledge interchange between eHealth initiatives while improving healthcare provision for socioeconomically disadvantaged groups across the globe. ⋯ The case studies illustrate eHealth's potential to improve the provision of healthcare by i) improving the delivery of healthcare (using AI-generated chats); ii) supporting the workforce (using telemedicine platforms); iii) strengthening the healthcare information system (through patient-centred healthcare information systems), and iv) improving system-related elements of healthcare (through a mobile health financing platform). Nevertheless, we found that development and implementation are hindered by user-related, technical, financial, regulatory and evaluation challenges. We formulated six recommendations to help anticipate or overcome these challenges: 1) evaluate eHealth's appropriateness, 2) know the end users, 3) establish evaluation methods, 4) prioritise the human component, 5) profit from collaborations, ensure sustainable financing and local ownership, 6) and contextualise and evaluate the implementation strategies.
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Securing primary care is an important issue for health policy. Given a threatened shortage of GPs in Germany, there are discussions about what actions to take to guarantee primary care. ⋯ The study has shown that GPs, from their perspective and experience, make specific suggestions to ensure primary care in the long term. Consequently, it is advisable to consider their points of view when planning, implementing and adjusting steps to strengthen primary care.
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Women presenting with Premenstrual Disorder (PMD) to general practitioners (GPs) experience problems with their biopsychosocial functioning. PMD is a disorder consisting of physical and/or mood-based symptoms cyclically occurring with a significant impairment of daily life. Little is known about the symptoms and coping strategies of women with PMD and their experiences with their GPs. ⋯ PMD symptoms can have a high impact on daily life. Women with PMD expressed their need for acknowledgement and a personalised approach from their GP. Greater awareness and knowledge among GPs may be helpful in this.
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Climate change is the greatest threat to global health in the twenty first century, yet combating it entails substantial health co-benefits. Physicians and other health professionals have not yet fully embraced their responsibilities in the climate crisis, especially about their communication with patients. While medical associations are calling on physicians to integrate climate change into health counselling, there is little empirical evidence about corresponding perceptions of patients. ⋯ These findings suggest that primary care patients can accept climate-sensitive health counselling, if it follows certain principles of communication, including patient-centredness. Our findings can be useful for developing communication guidelines, respective policies as well as well-designed intervention studies, which are needed to test the health and environmental effects of climate-sensitive health counselling.