Pernicious anaemia (PA) is characterised by vitamin B12 deficiency due to autoimmune-mediated loss of gastric parietal cells and intrinsic factor - a specific transporter for B12’s intestinal uptake. The Pernicious Anaemia Society (PAS) is a patient-driven charity that recently identified 10 research priorities for improved diagnosis and management of PA through a James Lind...
Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is a prevalent noncommunicable disease that is strongly associated with metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease, a leading cause of cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) index, a noninvasive tool for liver fibrosis assessment, is recommended for all patients with T2DM, yet its use in routine clinical...
The Consultation and Relational Empathy Measure is an internationally used five point each and 10-item questionnaire that assesses a physician’s empathy from the patient’s perspective. A 2-item version that uses item 6 “Showing care and compassion” and item 9 “Helping you to take control” from the Japanese 10-item version without changing the text was preliminarily developed...
The increasing demand for emergency department (ED) services has led to overcrowding, impacting the quality and accessibility of healthcare. The objectives were to evaluate how general practitioners (GPs) manage unscheduled visits, including patients redirected from emergency departments and/or medical dispatch centers, and to identify potential barriers to accepting these...
Given the growing challenges in primary care, including high demand and workforce shortages, artificial intelligence (AI)-based triage applications are being explored as a means of alleviating workloads. While the potential of AI in this context is widely acknowledged, there is still limited empirical research on how such tools become embedded in routine practice, especially from...
In Dutch general practice, urinary tract infections (UTIs) are the most common indication for prescribing antibiotics. General practice assistants (GPAs) are the first point of contact for patients with UTI-associated symptoms and sometimes even manage these cases without consulting a general practitioner. Nevertheless, literature on how GPAs provide and experience UTI-care is...
Hong Kong’s rapidly ageing population poses significant challenges to the sustainability of its healthcare system. With over 75% of adults aged 65 and above experiencing at least one chronic condition, enhancing the accessibility and quality of primary care is critical. Despite policy efforts such as the Primary Healthcare Blueprint and District Health Centres (DHCs), significant...
Social care integration in health systems is on the rise in the United States, particularly since the National Committee for Quality Assurance introduced screening and intervention as HEDIS metrics. These policy levers outpace empirical knowledge to guide how best to operationalize social care. This study reports results from a quality improvement initiative to implement social...
Regular screening can reduce the burden of colorectal cancer (CRC) and general practice involvement has been demonstrated to improve screening uptake and CRC outcomes. Our study explores Australian general practice stakeholders’ current involvement in supporting organised CRC screening through the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program (NBCSP) and their views of the feasibility...
Evidence-based guidelines for low back pain recommend against routine imaging. Despite these guidelines, many patients still seek imaging. We sought to understand why patients with low back pain may want imaging, using a qualitative approach grounded in the Common-Sense Self-Regulation Model (CSSRM), a model that frames how patients’ beliefs and actions are shaped by their past...
The world is facing increasing challenges related to the rising burden of chronic diseases as the population ages. The family doctor contract service (FDCS) has been shown to play a vital role in managing chronic diseases in China. However, a systematic evaluation of its effectiveness is lacking. This systematic review explores the effectiveness of the FDCS in the management of...
To explore feasibility of using a Nurse Cancer Care Coordinator (CCC) to synthesize cancer survivorship care data, assess degree of cancer-related distress, and coordinate care for American Indian (AI) patients seen in a tribal primary care clinic. A CCC from one of Choctaw Nation’s primary care facility collected data on American Indian adults who had completed cancer treatment...
Sexual and gender minority adolescents (SGM) experience higher rates of discrimination than heterosexual and cisgender peers, which may lead to adverse health behaviors, including condomless sex. Experienced discrimination and stigmatization may lead SGM adolescents to disproportionately seek information online around HIV risk and prevention. Understanding trusted sources of...
Type 2 diabetes (T2D) is highly prevalent in Singapore, yet glycemic control remains suboptimal in primary care. Continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) offers real-time feedback that may improve self-management, but adoption in Asian primary care settings is limited by cost and system integration challenges. This study evaluated the feasibility, acceptability, and perceived impact...
Advance care planning is a key aspect of palliative care and aims to establish patient preferences for future care, benefiting patients and their families. Palliative care, including advance care planning, is often provided by primary care physicians. Levels of advance care planning, however, remain low internationally. We aimed to conduct a systematic literature review to...
Soil-transmitted helminths (STHs) remain a public health problem for children in low- and middle-income countries. Conventional methods for STH diagnosis require well-equipped laboratories and trained personnel, which are often scarce or inaccessible in rural and resource-limited settings. Algorithmic non-biomedical screening tools are a potential strategy for community health...
Vaccination has been essential in mitigating the worst effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada. Healthcare providers can play a crucial role in promoting COVID-19 vaccination by discussing immunization, addressing patients’ questions, and providing them with relevant information. However, some segments of the public remained hesitant towards COVID-19 vaccination during the...
Existing studies on the assessment of the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF) have found that the QOF affects clinical outcomes and quality of care. However, there is little evidence of its impact on health-related quality of life (HQoL). To investigate the association between QOF and HQoL through the assessment of different measures. First, the percentage of overall achievement...
The aim of this study was to explore what experiences certified primary care physicians (PCPs) in Japan found meaningful in their work. Between October 2021 and February 2022, semi-structured interviews were conducted with Japan Primary Care Association (JPCA)-certified family physicians or JPCA Diplomates in primary care who were working at clinics or small hospitals in Japan...
In Europe around 40% of people aged ≥ 65 years are affected by multiple non-communicable chronic diseases (NCDs). The Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) showed its usefulness in early identifying healthcare needs of older people with NCDs to develop a care plan to meet these needs. PrimaCare_P3 study aims at assessing healthcare needs of older people referring to their...
The Molecular Transducers of Physical Activity Consortium (MoTrPAC) is a large-scale research study aimed at elucidating the effects of exercise training on the molecular mechanisms underlying the health benefits of exercise and physical activity. To take a first step toward achieving a goal of rapid dissemination, a qualitative analysis among frontline clinicians was conducted...
Physiotherapists encounter many barriers in their management of low back pain (LBP). However, little attention has been paid to what content physiotherapists find useful to improve their LBP management. We aimed to: (1) explore the experiences of physiotherapists regarding the educational content after completing either an “experimental” or “traditional” e-learning intervention...
Individuals face multifaceted barriers to accessing community resources, which can significantly impact their ability to obtain necessary support and services. This study examines barriers and enablers to access community resources among primary care patients and explores the interplay between individual- and system-level factors that influence access to resources. In this...
The overuse of antimicrobials is the main driver of the increasing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Between 80 and 90% of antimicrobial prescriptions originate from primary care. The goals were to establish the quality of prescriptions through combining data from a primary healthcare registry and a national socioeconomic database for novel determinants. Pseudonymized routine...