The European journal of general practice
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Pragmatic Clinical Trial
Effectiveness of the Assessment of Burden of Chronic Conditions (ABCC)-tool in patients with asthma, COPD, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and heart failure: A pragmatic clustered quasi-experimental study in the Netherlands.
The Assessment of Burden of Chronic Conditions (ABCC)-tool was developed to optimise chronic care. ⋯ Use of the ABCC-tool has a positive effect on perceived quality of care and patients' activation, which makes the tool ready for use in clinical practice. Healthcare providers (e.g. general practitioners and practice nurses) can use the tool to provide person-centred care.Trial registration number: ClinicalTrials.gov Registry (NCT04127383).
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5.4 million people in the UK have asthma, with one third experiencing suboptimal control, leading to co-morbidities and increased healthcare use. A quarter of people with long-term conditions informally access peer support through online health communities (OHCs). However, integrating online peer support into primary care services to facilitate self-management is a new concept. ⋯ Findings will assist clinicians in consultations about supporting self-management of patients through OHCs. Future research should evaluate feasibility, effectiveness, and cost-effectiveness of such support.
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General practitioners (GPs) could play an important role in the management of overweight and obesity in children. However, GPs experience different barriers and are in need of supportive tools. In order to support GPs to identify, address and refer these children, new tools should be developed. ⋯ The content topics of a supportive tool for GPs to identify, discuss and refer children with overweight and obesity were determined through a consensus-driven process. Further validation and assessment are required through a feasibility and implementation study.
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Primary Health Care (PHC) was the cornerstone of the pandemic response. ⋯ Based on the lessons learnt, building further on the pandemic-accelerated digitalisation, emphasising on quality improvement and patient safety, ensuring providers' well-being, and empowering citizens through health literacy could be key in promoting PHC resilience.
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The strict isolation measures for the population imposed by the health authorities caused a prolonged disruption of informal social support networks. Both this new social situation and the decrease in accessibility to health care have generated new needs in people with severe mental illness (SMI) and their caregivers. ⋯ COVID-19 confinement exacerbated loneliness and worse health self-perception in SMI people. Greater formal social support was required. GPs role is key to avoiding delays in appointments and lack of coordination between primary and specialised care.