BMC primary carePub Date : 2024-10-11DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02604-0
Guillermo Z Martínez-Pérez, Tajudin Adesegun Adetunji, Fátima Judith Leonela Salas Noriega, Olufemi Samuel Amoo, Cesar Ugarte-Gil, Abiodun Kofoworola Ajeigbe, Olufemi Adefehinti, Kingsley K Akinroye, Babatope Kolawole, Kofoworola Odeyemi, Sonjelle Shilton, Beatrice Vetter, Elena Ivanova Reipold, Morẹ Nikẹ Oluwátóyìn Foláyan
{"title":"Point-of-care biochemistry for primary healthcare in low-middle income countries: a qualitative inquiry.","authors":"Guillermo Z Martínez-Pérez, Tajudin Adesegun Adetunji, Fátima Judith Leonela Salas Noriega, Olufemi Samuel Amoo, Cesar Ugarte-Gil, Abiodun Kofoworola Ajeigbe, Olufemi Adefehinti, Kingsley K Akinroye, Babatope Kolawole, Kofoworola Odeyemi, Sonjelle Shilton, Beatrice Vetter, Elena Ivanova Reipold, Morẹ Nikẹ Oluwátóyìn Foláyan","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02604-0","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12875-024-02604-0","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Access to essential diagnostics is crucial for primary healthcare (PHC) in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). Many LMICs have invested in equipping PHC with point-of-care (PoC) diagnostics for infectious diseases, however there has been no similar investment to improve PHC capacities for clinical chemistry. The biochemistry gap is among the deterrents to universal health coverage.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A social sciences project was conducted with the aim to understand the key PHC stakeholders' insights on the pertinence of PoC biochemistry for PHC in LMICs. Data generation was conducted between July-November 2023 in Mongolia, Nigeria and Peru. Decision-makers in healthcare delivery, healthcare professionals, and patient and community advocates were engaged using a combination of sampling techniques. Unstructured individual and group conversations, and non-participant observation were conducted. Analysis involved an inductive line-by-line coding on printed transcripts, followed by a deductive coding and theme-by-theme analysis on digitized transcripts.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fifteen, 51 and 20 informants from Mongolia, Nigeria and Peru, respectively, participated. Fifty-five of the 94 informants were female. Most informants considered that PoC biochemistry in PHC would be pertinent, from a clinical and a resources-saving perspective. Those households that currently bear the burden of referrals (i.e., the poor, the bedridden, the older adults) would benefit the most from the deployment of PoC biochemistry for essential biochemistry parameters. Improved access to PoC glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), lipid, liver and kidney profile was perceived as helpful to inform clinicians' decision-taking. The value of PoC biochemistry for the management of noncommunicable diseases (diabetes, hypertension) and infectious conditions (dengue, malaria, tuberculosis), to improve child health outcomes (severe dehydration in children with diarrhea and/or malnutrition) and to reduce preventable causes of death (dengue-related renal failure) was highlighted.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>PoC biochemistry holds potential to revert the impact that the biochemistry gap has for patient care in some LMICs' PHC settings. PoC equipment for parameters such as HbA1c, urea, creatinine or electrolytes could enhance community-level management of preventable causes of mortality, improve service delivery for patients affected by locally-prevalent infectious conditions, and improve the psychosocial and economic wellbeing of patients facing the burden of referrals to remote biochemistry-equipped centers.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Not applicable.</p>","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11468262/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142407302","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BMC primary carePub Date : 2024-10-11DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02609-9
Stephanie A Hooker, Colleen Starkey, Gavin Bart, Rebecca C Rossom, Sheryl Kane, Anthony W Olson
{"title":"Predicting buprenorphine adherence among patients with opioid use disorder in primary care settings.","authors":"Stephanie A Hooker, Colleen Starkey, Gavin Bart, Rebecca C Rossom, Sheryl Kane, Anthony W Olson","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02609-9","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12875-024-02609-9","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD), including buprenorphine, are effective treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD) and reduce risk for overdose and death. Buprenorphine can be prescribed in outpatient primary care settings to treat OUD; however, prior research suggests adherence to buprenorphine in these settings can be low. The purpose of this study was to identify the rates of and factors associated with buprenorphine adherence among patients with OUD in the first six months after a new start of buprenorphine.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data were extracted from the electronic health record (EHR) from a large integrated health system in the upper Midwest. Patients with OUD (N = 345; Mean age = 37.6 years, SD 13.2; 61.7% male; 78% White) with a new start of buprenorphine between March 2019 and July 2021 were included in the analysis. Buprenorphine adherence in the first six months was defined using medication orders; the proportion of days covered (PDC) with a standard cut-point of 80% was used to classify patients as adherent or non-adherent. Demographic (e.g., age, sex, race and ethnicity, geographic location), service (e.g., encounters, buprenorphine formulations and dosage) and clinical (e.g., diagnoses, urine toxicology screens) characteristics were examined as factors that could be related to adherence. Analyses included logistic regression with adherence group as a binary outcome.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Less than half of patients were classified as adherent to buprenorphine (44%). Adjusting for other factors, male sex (OR = 0.34, 95% CI = 0.20, 0.57, p < .001) and having an unexpected positive for opioids on urine toxicology (OR = 0.42, 95% CI = 0.21, 0.83, p < .014) were associated with lower likelihood of adherence to buprenorphine, whereas being a former smoker (compared to a current smoker; OR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.02, 3.27, p = .014) was associated with greater likelihood of being adherent to buprenorphine.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>These results suggest that buprenorphine adherence in primary care settings may be low, yet male sex and smoking status are associated with adherence rates. Future research is needed to identify the mechanisms through which these factors are associated with adherence.</p>","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11468455/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142407303","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Performance of health and wellness centre in providing primary care services in Chhattisgarh, India.","authors":"Narayan Tripathi, Priyanka Parhad, Samir Garg, Silka Shubhadarshini Biswal, Senthilkumar Ramasamy, Animesh Panda, Abhishek Kumar Shastri, Aniruddha Bhargav, Chandrashekhar Bopche, Vahab Ansari, Anjulata Sahu, Rohit Rajput, Anju Gupta, Manisha Gupta, Sanjana Agrawal, Rajesh Sharma, Mohammed Ahmed, Sudipta Ghosh, Jyotiraditya Samrat, Dipti Yadav, Pramita Sharma, Vikash R Keshri","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02603-1","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12875-024-02603-1","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Primary health care has regained its importance in global policy making. In 2018, the Government of India initiated the Ayushman Bharat - Comprehensive Primary Health Care (AB-CPHC) programme. It was based on upgrading the existing primary health facilities into Health and Wellness Centers (HWCs). The current study aimed to assess the readiness and performance of HWCs in providing comprehensive primary health care services in India's Chhattisgarh state.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We conducted a cross-sectional health facility assessment with a state-representative sample of 404 HWCs. A standardized health facility survey tool was used to collect information on essential inputs and service outputs of HWCs. The expected population healthcare needs were estimated using secondary sources. The performance of HWCs was assessed by comparing the volume of services provided against the expected population need for outpatient care.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>On an average, 358 outpatients including 128 non-communicable disease (NCD) patients were treated monthly at an HWC. HWCs were able to cover 31% of the total population's health need for outpatient care, 26% for hypertension, and 21% for diabetes care. In addition to services for reproductive and child health, HWCs provided services for common acute ailments (cold, cough, fever, aches and pains); infections of skin, eye, ear, and reproductive tract, and minor injuries. HWCs were also contributing significantly to national disease control programmes. Acute ailments followed by NCDs and communicable diseases had the largest share among services provided. The key gaps were in coverage of mental illnesses and chronic respiratory diseases. Most of the HWCs showed adequate readiness for the availability of required human resources, supplies, and infrastructure.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>HWCs were able to provide a comprehensive range of primary care services and able to cater to a sizable portion of the rural population's acute and chronic health care needs. The performance was made possible by the adequate availability of medicines, staff, training programmes and tele-consultation linkages. If HWCs in other states are able to reach a similar level of performance, the initiative will prove to be a game changer for equitable primary care in India.</p>","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11451184/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142376330","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Exploring GP and patient attitudes towards the use and deprescribing of dietary supplements: a survey study in Switzerland.","authors":"Renata Vidonscky Lüthold, Zsofia Rozsnyai, Kristie Rebecca Weir, Sven Streit, Katharina Tabea Jungo","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02605-z","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12875-024-02605-z","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Dietary supplements are commonly used by older adults, but their inappropriate use may lead to adverse events. To optimise medication use, general practitioners (GPs) ideally are aware of all substances that patients use, including supplements. This cross-sectional study explored the use of dietary supplements by older patients with polypharmacy, the rate at which they disclosed this use to their GPs, and compared patients' and GPs' attitudes towards discontinuing dietary supplements.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Ten GPs in Swiss primary care recruited five to ten of their older patients taking ≥ 5 regular medications. Both GPs and their patients completed a survey on patients' use of dietary supplements and attitudes towards deprescribing those. We described and compared their responses. We assessed the association of supplement disclosure with patient characteristics using multilevel logistic regression analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Three out of ten GPs (30%) were female, and GPs' average age was 52 years (SD = 8). 45% of patients were female (29/65). Most patients (n = 45, 70%) were taking ≥ 1 supplement. On average, patients reported to be using three supplements (SD = 2). In 60% (n = 39) of patients, GPs were unaware of ≥ 1 supplement used. We did not find evidence for an association between supplement disclosure to GPs and patient characteristics. Only 8% (n = 5) of patients and 60% (n = 6) of GPs reported ≥ 1 supplement they would be willing to deprescribe and none of the supplements reported by GPs and patients to deprescribe matched.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Swiss GPs were unaware of many dietary supplements used by their older patients, which may affect medication optimisation efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11451169/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142373674","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BMC primary carePub Date : 2024-10-01DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02588-x
Tessa S Marcus, W Renkin, A S Malan, J M Moodie, J Mostert, Z Phote, J F M Hugo
{"title":"An ICT-enabled community oriented primary care intervention in mining communities during COVID-19 (2019-2022): perceived changes in the role and place of community health workers.","authors":"Tessa S Marcus, W Renkin, A S Malan, J M Moodie, J Mostert, Z Phote, J F M Hugo","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02588-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12875-024-02588-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>This is a study of service provider perceptions of the place, role and practices of CHWs in a four-year, large-scale private sector funded, public service ICT-enabled COPC intervention with rural and remote mining communities. Like all South African communities, apart from large mining house employees and some contractors, most people use available public healthcare services and private traditional as well as limited allopathic private sector providers. In addition to the limitations of facility centred primary healthcare and a fragmented health care system, the many negative health effects of mining on the communities, go unattended.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This is a rapid, qualitative pragmatic study. Using site and participation convenience sampling, 37 semi-structured individual or group interviews were conducted with 57 stakeholders from 38 of the 135 intervention PHC facilities. Using a data driven, inductive approach, the results were analysed thematically in terms of perceived changes in the role and place of CHWs.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>CHWs registered 42 490 households and captured the demographic and social profiles as well as the health status of over 154 910 individuals using AitaHealth™. These data provided healthcare professionals and managers with knowledge about community demographics, at-risk groups and vulnerable individuals. The intervention changed the locational focus of CHW practice and expanded their scope of work and competencies in household comprehensive health education, advice and care. It led to a growth in community and professional confidence in CHWs as trusted members of mining community PHC teams and to more focused and efficient clinic work.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This ICT-enabled COPC intervention adopted a comprehensive approach to healthcare delivery that started by including CHWs in PHC teams and locating them in communities. Inclusive and systematic continuous learning, clinically-led CHW service support and ICT-enabled information technology engendered trust in CHWs as competent PHC members, and grew community confidence in them and the PHC system as a whole. Although health, care and other professionals and workers valued the changes the intervention brought to their work as well as people's lives in underserved and vulnerable mining communities, its sustainability is contingent on the vagaries of political will and financial commitment.</p>","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11443902/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142360707","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BMC primary carePub Date : 2024-10-01DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02608-w
Scott B Maitland, Paula Brauer, David M Mutch, Dawna Royall, Doug Klein, Angelo Tremblay, Caroline Rheaume, Khursheed Jeejeebhoy
{"title":"Exploratory analysis of the variable response to an intensive lifestyle change program for metabolic syndrome.","authors":"Scott B Maitland, Paula Brauer, David M Mutch, Dawna Royall, Doug Klein, Angelo Tremblay, Caroline Rheaume, Khursheed Jeejeebhoy","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02608-w","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12875-024-02608-w","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Substantial variability in response to lifestyle interventions has been recognized for many years, and researchers have begun to disentangle sources of error from inherent differences in individual responsiveness. The objective of this secondary analysis of an intensive lifestyle intervention (diet and exercise) for metabolic syndrome (MetS) was to identify potentially important differences among study completers grouped by treatment response as measured by change in a continuous metabolic syndrome score (Gurka/MetS).</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>All study completers from a 12-month primary care study were categorized into one of five groups according to change in the Gurka/MetS score. A change of 0.4 in z-score defined clinically relevant change in line with results of previous studies. Repeated measures analysis of variance was used to examine cardiovascular disease risk and individual clinical indicators of MetS over 12 months, looking for differences in response over time by the five groups.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 176 participants, 50% (n = 88) had stable scores, 10% (n = 18) had relevant change scores in the first 3 months only and reverted toward baseline, 20% (n = 35) achieved meaningful change over the whole study, 11% (n = 20) had a delayed response at 3-12 months, and 9% (n = 15) demonstrated worsening scores. Significant differential patterns were noted for groups over the duration of the intervention (p < .001). Improvement in diet quality and fitness scores were similar across all groups. Other available variables were tested and did not account for the differences.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Work is needed to identify key factors that account for differences in responses to lifestyle interventions that can be used to guide treatment decisions for intensive lifestyle interventions for this common condition.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT01616563; first registered June 12, 2012.</p>","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-10-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11443702/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142360708","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BMC primary carePub Date : 2024-09-30DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02607-x
Kellia Chiu, Abhimanyu Sud
{"title":"Reframing conceptualizations of primary care involvement in opioid use disorder treatment.","authors":"Kellia Chiu, Abhimanyu Sud","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02607-x","DOIUrl":"10.1186/s12875-024-02607-x","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Opioid-related harms and opioid use disorder (OUD) are health priorities requiring urgent policy responses. There have been many calls for improved OUD care in primary care, as well as increasing involvement of primary care providers in countries like Canada and Australia, which have been experiencing high rates of opioid-related harms.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Using Starfield's 4Cs conceptualization of primary care functions, we examined how and why primary care systems may be suited towards, or pose challenges to providing OUD care, and identified health system opportunities to address these challenges. We conducted 14 semi-structured interviews with 16 key informants with experience in opioid use policy in Canada and Australia.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Primary care was identified to be an ideal setting for OUD care delivery due to its potential as the first point of contact in the health system; the opportunity to offer other health services to people with OUD; and the ability to coordinate care with other health providers (e.g. specialists, social workers) and thus also provide care continuity. However, challenges include a lack of resources and support for chronic disease management more broadly in primary care, and the prevailing model of OUD treatment, where addictions care is not seen as part of comprehensive primary care. Additionally, the highly regulated OUD policy landscape is also a barrier, manifesting as a 'regulatory cascade' in which restrictive oversight of OUD treatment passes from regulators to health providers to patients, normalizing the overly restrictive nature and inaccessibility of OUD care.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>While primary care is an essential arena for providing OUD care, existing sociocultural, political, health professional, and health system factors have led to the current model of care that limits primary care involvement. Addressing this may involve structurally embedding OUD care into primary care and strengthening primary care in general.</p>","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-30","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11443781/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142333567","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BMC primary carePub Date : 2024-09-28DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02601-3
Mawson Wang, Alice Knight, Anastassia Demeshko, Christian M Girgis, Patrick Bolton, Anurina Das, Andrew Auwyang, Brett Williams, Daniel Moses, Catherine D'Este, Markus J Seibel
{"title":"Integrated model of secondary fracture prevention in primary care (INTERCEPT): protocol for a cluster randomised controlled multicentre trial.","authors":"Mawson Wang, Alice Knight, Anastassia Demeshko, Christian M Girgis, Patrick Bolton, Anurina Das, Andrew Auwyang, Brett Williams, Daniel Moses, Catherine D'Este, Markus J Seibel","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02601-3","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-024-02601-3","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Osteoporotic fractures signal severely compromised bone strength and are associated with a greatly increased risk of refracture. Despite the availability of effective and safe medications that reduce fracture risk, 70-80% of patients are inadequately investigated or treated for osteoporosis following an initial fracture, constituting a significant 'osteoporosis care gap'. Optimal methods of bridging this gap with primary care at the forefront of secondary fracture prevention remain undetermined. This protocol describes a cluster randomised controlled trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a novel integrated model of secondary fracture prevention and management in primary care.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>The cluster randomised controlled trial involves multiple branches of a community-based radiology provider (CRP), a hospital-based secondary fracture prevention program (SFPP) and numerous primary care practices in metropolitan Sydney that refer to either the CRP or SFPP. Using natural language processing tools, patients diagnosed with a potential osteoporotic fracture will be identified by automatically screening radiology reports generated at the CRP or SFPP. The primary care practices that these patients attend will be randomised (1:1) to either the intervention or usual care. The intervention consists of (i) electronic and fax alerts informing the practice/primary care physician that their patient has been diagnosed with a potential osteoporotic fracture; (ii) provision of osteoporosis management guidelines and (iii) follow-up surveys at 4 weeks and 6 months. Practices in the usual care (control) group will receive no alerts and provide usual care. The primary outcome is the proportion of patients undergoing a bone density scan and/or filling a prescription for osteo-protective pharmacotherapy within 3 months of the initial diagnostic imaging report. Secondary outcomes are the proportion of patients: (i) undergoing an osteoporosis-related blood test within 3 months of the initial diagnostic imaging report; (ii) initiated on a chronic disease management plan within 3 months of the diagnostic report, and (iii) filling a second prescription for osteo-protective pharmacotherapy within 9 months post initial diagnostic imaging report. Outcomes will be obtained through de-identified linked data from Medical Benefits Schedule and Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme held by the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.</p><p><strong>Discussion: </strong>This is the first randomised trial to integrate case-detection of potential osteoporotic fractures in a hospital and community setting with direct alerts to the patient's primary care provider. This study will determine whether such an intervention is effective in improving investigation and/or treatment rates of osteoporosis in patients with a potential osteoporotic fracture.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>This study is registered with the Australian New Ze","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11438153/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142333664","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
BMC primary carePub Date : 2024-09-28DOI: 10.1186/s12875-024-02563-6
Soha Khorsand, Carol Geller, Alison Eyre, Hounaida Abi Haidar, Haifeng Chen, Corina Lacombe, Monisha Kabir, Andrew Mclellan
{"title":"\"Like an umbrella, protecting me from the rain until I get to my destination\": Evaluating the implementation of a tailored primary care model for urban marginalized populations.","authors":"Soha Khorsand, Carol Geller, Alison Eyre, Hounaida Abi Haidar, Haifeng Chen, Corina Lacombe, Monisha Kabir, Andrew Mclellan","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02563-6","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-024-02563-6","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Improving health equity and access to the highest possible standard of health care is a key issue of social accountability. Centretown Community Health Centre in Ottawa, Canada has iteratively developed a program to target and serve marginalized and complex populations since 1999. The program implementation was evaluated using a validated implementation framework.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Quantitative and qualitative data were collected through a health records extraction (n = 570), a client complexity assessment tool (n = 74), semi-structured interviews with clients and key stakeholders (n = 41), and a structured client satisfaction survey (n = 30). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and inductive thematic analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Five hundred and seventy unique clients were seen between November 1-30, 2021. A third of clients (34%) did not have a provincial health card for access to universal health care services, and most (68%) were homeless or a resident of rooming houses. Most clients who reported their income (92%) were at or below Canada's official poverty line. The total mean complexity score for clients seen over a one-month period (n = 74) was 16.68 (SD 6.75) where a total score of at least 13 of 33 is perceived to be a threshold for client biopsychosocial complexity. Clients gained the majority of their total score from the Social support assessment component of the tool. Clients (n = 31) and key informants (n = 10) highlighted the importance of building relationships with this population, providing wrap-around care, and providing low-barrier care as major strength to the Urban Health program (UH). Key areas for improvement included the need to: i) increase staff diversity, ii) expand program hours and availability, and iii) improve access to harm reduction services. Clients appeared to be highly satisfied with the program, rating the program an average total score of 18.50 out of 20.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The program appears to serve marginalized and complex clients and seems well-received by the community. Our findings have relevance for other health care organizations seeking to better serve marginalized and medically and socially complex individuals and families in their communities.</p>","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11437737/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142333659","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Navigating delayed diagnoses, self-neglect, and lost livelihoods: a qualitative exploration of fisherfolk's health perspectives and management of non-communicable diseases in Kerala, India.","authors":"Surya Surendran, Gloria Benny, Jaison Joseph, Devaki Nambiar","doi":"10.1186/s12875-024-02575-2","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-024-02575-2","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) place a significant burden on India's healthcare system, accounting for approximately 62% of all deaths in the country in 2017. The southern Indian state - Kerala - has some of the highest rates of NCDs. Within the state, the fisherfolk community has a high prevalence of risk factors such as tobacco use and alcohol consumption. Working in the fisheries industry demands physical exertion, night shifts alongside extended periods of time at sea (for seafaring fisherfolk). Evidence is scant on how these conditions relate to the health-seeking experiences of fisherfolk, particularly in the context of NCDs. We conducted a qualitative study in two districts of Kerala to fill this gap.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>In-depth individual and small group interviews- as per participant preference - with male and female fishing community members living with NCDs were conducted between October 2022 and February 2023 in two districts of Kerala. Interviews were conducted to explore community members' experiences with health-seeking for NCDs. Transliterated English transcripts were coded using ATLAS.ti software and analysed using thematic analysis with inductive generation of codes, with indexing against Levesque, Harris, and Russell's 2013 access to healthcare framework.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Thirty-three interviews with 42 participants were conducted. We found that NCDs were usually diagnosed late- either when admitted/consulted for other illnesses or when the symptoms became unbearable. Health-seeking patterns differed between seafaring and inland fishing subgroups, who were sampled from two districts in the state. Seafaring fisherfolk preferred public facilities for regular checkups and medicines while in-land fisherfolk relied on private facilities, although it was considered expensive. Ability to seek care was impacted by the working hours of the health centre which did not suit their working hours. Health constaints and related expenses also impacted their financial status and occupation, with some opting for less strenuous jobs.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>This study highlights the NCD-related health-seeking experiences of the fisherfolk community in Kerala, India. Fisherfolk reported self neglect, delayed diagnosis, cost and livelihood constraints owing to the onset of NCDs, even as dual practice and medicine access in the public sector were appreciated. Overall, larger studies and policymaking processes should consider in depth the experiences faced by particular economic groups like fisherfolk, who may face unique health and care-seeking challenges.</p>","PeriodicalId":72428,"journal":{"name":"BMC primary care","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":2.0,"publicationDate":"2024-09-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11437729/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142333566","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}