41 research outputs found
General practitionersâ perceptions of compassionate communities: a qualitative study
Abstract: Background: General Practitioners (GPs) face challenges when providing palliative care, including an ageing, multimorbid population, and falling GP numbers. A âpublic health palliative careâ approach, defined as âworking with communities to improve peopleâs experience of death, dying and bereavementâ, is gaining momentum. âCompassionate communitiesâ is one example, with a focus on linking professional health carers with supportive community networks. Primary care is central to the approach, which has been incorporated into United Kingdom GP palliative care guidance. No research to date, however, has investigated GP perspectives of these approaches. Our aim, therefore, was to explore GP perceptions of a public health approach to palliative care, and compassionate communities. Methods: GPs working in the United Kingdom were recruited through university teaching and research networks using snowball sampling. Purposive sampling ensured wide representation of gender, level of experience and practice populations. Semi-structured, digitally audio-recorded interviews were conducted with nine GPs. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and thematic analysis was undertaken, informed by a qualitative descriptive methodology. Interviews continued until data saturation was reached. Results: Most participants were unfamiliar with the term âcompassionate communitiesâ, but recognised examples within their practice. Three major themes with seven subthemes were identified: 1) Perceived potential of compassionate communities, including: âmaximising use of existing community servicesâ; âinfluencing health outside of healthcareâ; and âcombatting tabooâ, 2) Perceived challenges of compassionate communities, including: âpatient safetyâ; âlimited capacity of the communityâ; âlimited capacity of general practiceâ, and âapplicability of public health to palliative careâ, and 3) The role of the GP in compassionate communities. Conclusions: GPs recognised the importance of the wider community in caring for palliative care patients, however most were unfamiliar with the compassionate community approach. Participants held differing views regarding the application of the model, and the position of general practice within this. Further research into the approachâs practical implementation, and exploring the views of other key stakeholders, would help establish the feasibility of compassionate communities in practice, and guide its future application
Using the present to interpret the past: the role of ethnographic studies in Andean archaeology
Within Andean research it is common to use ethnographic analogies to aid the interpretation of archaeological remains, and ethnographers and archaeologists have developed shared research in technology, material culture and material practice. Although most of this research does not follow the detailed recording methods of spatial patterning envisioned in earlier formulations of ethnoarchaeology, it has had a profound effect on how archaeology in the region has been interpreted. This paper uses examples from the study of pottery production to address earlier debates about the use of ethnographic analogy, discusses the dangers of imposing an idealised or uniform vision of traditional Andean societies onto earlier periods (âLo Andinoâ) but stresses the benefits of combining ethnographic and archaeological research to explore continuities and changes in cultural practice and regional variations