What makes primary care effective for people in poverty living with multiple chronic conditions?: study protocol

Abstract Background: The inverse care law persists: people living in poverty have the greatest needs and face considerable challenges in getting the care they need. Evidence reveals that GPs encounter difficulties in delivering care to poor patients, while many of those patients feel stigmatized by healthcare professionals. Patients living in poverty report negative healthcare experiences and unmet healthcare needs. Indeed, there is a growing recognition in primary care research of the importance of addressing the capabilities and social conditions of the poor when delivering care. Few studies have looked at the factors contributing to effective and "socially responsive" care for people living in poverty. Methods/Design: Our study adopts a qualitative ethnographic approach in four healthcare organizations in deprived areas of metropolitan Montreal (Québec, Canada), using patient shadowing techniques and interviews. Data will be collected through fieldwork observations and informal interviews with patients before and after consultations. We will observe medical consultations, care organization activities, and waiting areas and reception of patients. We will conduct a total of 36 individual interviews with 12 GPs and 24 patients. The interviews will be audio-recorded and transcribed for purposes of analysis. The analysis consists of debriefing sessions, coding and interpretive analysis. Discussion: This study aims to investigate how positive healthcare interactions between physicians and patients can improve the management of chronic conditions. We hypothesize that factors related to care organization, to healthcare professionals' experience and to patients may enhance the quality of healthcare interactions, which may have positive impacts for preventing and managing chronic conditions. Our study will provide a unique set of data grounded in the perspectives of healthcare professionals and of patients living in poverty

Barriers to accessing primary health care: Comparing Australian experiences internationally

Most highly developed economies have embarked on a process of primary health care (PHC) transformation. To provide evidence on how nations vary in terms of accessing PHC, the aim of this study is to describe the extent to which barriers to access were experienced by adults in Australia compared with other countries. Communities participating in an international research project on PHC access interventions were engaged to prioritise questions from the 2013 Commonwealth Fund International Health Policy Survey within a framework that conceptualises access across dimensions of approachability, acceptability, availability, affordability and appropriateness. Logistic regression models, with barriers to access as outcomes, found measures of availability to be a problematic dimension in Australia; 27% of adults experienced difficulties with out-of-hours access, which was higher than 5 of 10 comparator countries. Although less prevalent, affordability was also perceived as a substantial barrier; 16% of Australians said they had forgone health care due to cost in the previous year. After adjusting for age and health status, this barrier was more common in Australia than 7 of 10 countries. Findings of this integrated assessment of barriers to access offer insights for policymakers and researchers on Australia's international performance in this crucial PHC domain

Personal Characteristics and Experience of Primary Care Predicting Frequent Use of Emergency Department: A Prospective Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVE:A small number of patients frequently using the emergency department (ED) account for a disproportionate amount of the total ED workload and are considered using this service inappropriately. The aim of this study was to identify prospectively personal characteristics and experience of organizational and relational dimensions of primary care that predict frequent use of ED. METHODS:This study was conducted among parallel cohorts of the general population and primary care patients (N = 1,769). The measures were at baseline (T1), 12 (T2) and 24 months (T3): self-administered questionnaire on current health, health behaviours and primary care experience in the previous year. Use of medical services was confirmed using administrative databases. Mixed effect logistic regression modeling identified characteristics predicting frequent ED utilization. RESULTS:A higher likelihood of frequent ED utilization was predicted by lower socioeconomic status, higher disease burden, lower perceived organizational accessibility, higher number of reported healthcare coordination problems and not having a complete annual check-up, above and beyond adjustment for all independent variables. CONCLUSIONS:Personal characteristics such as low socioeconomic status and high disease burden as well as experience of organizational dimensions of primary care such as low accessibility, high healthcare coordination problems and low comprehensiveness of care are prospectively associated with frequent ED utilization. Interventions developed to prevent inappropriate ED visits, such as case management for example, should tailor low socioeconomic status and patients with high disease burden and should aim to improve experience of primary care regarding accessibility, coordination and comprehensiveness

Un marco de evaluación de la atención primaria de salud en América Latina A framework for evaluating primary health care in Latin America

OBJETIVOS: Determinar la pertinencia de aplicar la estrategia canadiense de evaluación de la atención primaria de salud (APS) en América Latina y proponer las modificaciones necesarias para llegar a un consenso latinoamericano. MÉTODOS: Se utilizó el método Delphi para llegar a un consenso entre 29 expertos comprometidos con el desarrollo o la evaluación de la APS en América Latina. Se realizaron cuatro rondas virtuales y un encuentro presencial para discutir el modelo lógico de evaluación de la APS, los siete objetivos y los seis factores condicionantes que forman parte de la estrategia canadiense, con sus interrogantes de evaluación e indicadores. Se calificaron la relevancia y la pertinencia de cada concepto desde el punto de vista de los países de América Latina. RESULTADOS: Los expertos consideraron los objetivos y los factores condicionantes de la estrategia canadiense altamente pertinentes para evaluar la APS en América Latina, aunque reconocieron la necesidad de modificarlos para aumentar su pertinencia. Los principales cambios fueron la formulación de una visión y una misión de la APS, la inclusión de nuevos objetivos y factores condicionantes y la reformulación de los originales. Los objetivos de coordinación y atención integral e integrada no lograron un alto nivel de consenso debido a ambigüedades en los enunciados originales y la coexistencia de distintas interpretaciones sobre el significado de ciertas dimensiones de evaluación referidas en los enunciados. CONCLUSIONES: Se lograron avances significativos en el camino hacia la construcción de un marco de evaluación para la APS en la Región de las Américas. Es necesario desarrollar indicadores e instrumentos de recolección de información adecuados y factibles de ser aplicados en distintos contextos.<br>OBJECTIVES: To determine the relevancy of applying the Canadian primary health care (PHC) assessment strategy to Latin America and to propose any modifications that might be needed for reaching a consensus in Latin America. METHODS: The Delphi method was used to reach a consensus among 29 experts engaged in PHC development or evaluation in Latin America. Four virtual sessions and a face-to-face meeting were held to discuss the PHC evaluation logic model and the seven goals and six conditioning factors that make up the Canadian strategy, as well as any questions regarding the evaluation and indicators. The relevance of each concept was ranked according to the perspective of the Latin American countries. RESULTS: The experts considered the Canadian strategy's objectives and conditioning factors to be highly relevant to assessing PHC in Latin America, though they acknowledged that additional modification would increase relevance. The chief suggestions were to create a PHC vision and mission, to include additional objectives and conditioning factors, and to rework the original set. The objectives that concerned coordination and integrated comprehensive care did not achieve a high degree of consensus because of ambiguities in the original text and multiple interpretations of statements regarding certain aspects of the evaluation. CONCLUSIONS: Considerable progress was made on the road to building a PHC evaluation framework for the Region of the Americas. Indicators and information-gathering tools, which can be appropriately and practically applied in diverse contexts, need to be developed

Personal Characteristics and Experience of Primary Care Predicting Frequent Use of Emergency Department: A Prospective Cohort Study

<div><p>Objective</p><p>A small number of patients frequently using the emergency department (ED) account for a disproportionate amount of the total ED workload and are considered using this service inappropriately. The aim of this study was to identify prospectively personal characteristics and experience of organizational and relational dimensions of primary care that predict frequent use of ED.</p><p>Methods</p><p>This study was conducted among parallel cohorts of the general population and primary care patients (N = 1,769). The measures were at baseline (T₁), 12 (T₂) and 24 months (T₃): self-administered questionnaire on current health, health behaviours and primary care experience in the previous year. Use of medical services was confirmed using administrative databases. Mixed effect logistic regression modeling identified characteristics predicting frequent ED utilization.</p><p>Results</p><p>A higher likelihood of frequent ED utilization was predicted by lower socioeconomic status, higher disease burden, lower perceived organizational accessibility, higher number of reported healthcare coordination problems and not having a complete annual check-up, above and beyond adjustment for all independent variables.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>Personal characteristics such as low socioeconomic status and high disease burden as well as experience of organizational dimensions of primary care such as low accessibility, high healthcare coordination problems and low comprehensiveness of care are prospectively associated with frequent ED utilization. Interventions developed to prevent inappropriate ED visits, such as case management for example, should tailor low socioeconomic status and patients with high disease burden and should aim to improve experience of primary care regarding accessibility, coordination and comprehensiveness.</p></div