Primary health care research & development
-
Prim Health Care Res Dev · Apr 2013
A questionnaire survey of patients and carers of patients prescribed Sativex as an unlicensed medicine.
To identify the areas of daily function most affected by the introduction of Sativex, a cannabis-based medicine, and the impact on caregivers and people with multiple sclerosis (MS). ⋯ The response rate was 57%, with 124 questionnaires returned. The majority of respondents and their caregivers reported improvements across a range of daily functional activities, alongside a reduction in the use of concomitant anti-spasticity medication and in the use of other healthcare resources.
-
Prim Health Care Res Dev · Jul 2012
Health-care sector and complementary medicine: practitioners' experiences of delivering acupuncture in the public and private sectors.
The aim was to identify similarities and differences between private practice and the National Health Service (NHS) in practitioners' experiences of delivering acupuncture to treat pain. We wished to identify differences that could affect patients' experiences and inform our understanding of how trials conducted in private clinics relate to NHS clinical practice. ⋯ The perceived effectiveness of acupuncture was described consistently and participants felt they did (or would) deliver acupuncture similarly in NHS and in private practice. In both the sectors, patients sought acupuncture as a last resort and acupuncturist-patient relationships were deemed important. Acupuncture availability differed across sectors: in the NHS it was constrained by Trust policies and in the private sector by patients' financial resources. There were greater opportunities for autonomous practice in the private sector and regulation was important for different reasons in each sector. In general, NHS practitioners had Western-focussed training and also used conventional medical techniques, whereas private practitioners were more likely to have Traditional Chinese training and to practise other complementary therapies in addition to acupuncture. Future studies should examine the impact of these differences on patients' clinical outcomes.
-
Prim Health Care Res Dev · Jul 2012
Exploring attitudes and practices of General Practice staff towards offers of opportunistic screening for chlamydia: a UK survey.
This study applied a theory-based questionnaire to examine the behaviours and beliefs of all practice staff who may be involved in offering chlamydia screens to young people aged 15-25 years old. We aimed to identify potential influencing factors and examine the organisational constraints, which may be amenable to change. ⋯ Future interventions should be targeted at increasing the range of consultations in which offers are made, demonstrating how to make offers without increasing consultation time, providing more complete records of sexual activity, screens and results, and encouraging audit and review within the practice to promote practice wide approaches to increasing opportunistic screening.
-
Prim Health Care Res Dev · Apr 2012
Utilisation of strategic communication to create willingness to change work practices among primary care staff: a long-term follow-up study.
To evaluate the long-term utilisation of strategic communication as a factor of importance when changing work practices among primary care staff. ⋯ Continuous information contributed to significant improvements over time with respect to new ideas and the intention to change work practices. There was a statistically significant synergistic effect on the new way of thinking, that is, willingness to change work practices. During the final two years, the network of ambassadors had created a distinctive image for itself in the sense that primary care staff members were aware of it and its activities. This awareness was associated with a positive change with regard to new ways of thinking. More years of practice was inversely associated with willingness to change work practices. Strategic communication may lead to a scientific platform that promotes high-quality patient care by means of new methods and research findings.
-
To identify the appropriate service provider attendees of emergency departments (EDs) and walk-in centres (WiCs) in North East London and to match this to local service provision and patient choice. ⋯ A number of unscheduled care strategies are, or have just been, developed with the emphasis on moving demand into community-based services. Plurality of services provides service users with a range of alternative access points but can cause duplication of services and repeat attendance. Managing continued increase in emergency and unscheduled care is a challenge. The uncertainties in prospective decision making could be used to inform service development and delivery.