European general practitioners’/family physicians’ attitudes towards person-centered care and factors that influence its implementation in everyday practice : preliminary results

Background: Person-centered care (PCC) is widely acknowledged as a core value in family medicine and has been associated with many positive outcomes of care. There has been no comparison of GPs attitudes towards person-centeredness across European countries. Research questions: To investigate GPs/FPs attitudes towards person-centeredness. To understand GPs/FPs facilitators and barriers related to practicing PCC. To document obstacles to practicing PCC in practice. Method: A cross-sectional questionnaire-based study across 22 European countries (finished in one country, in 10 countries ongoing, in 11 countries finishing the preparatory phase). In each country, the population of GPs/FPs will be reached through the official mailing list of the national medical associations. The study instrument consists of four parts: General information about the doctor and the doctor's office, Perceived Stress Scale (PSS), Patient Practitioner Orientation Scale (PPOS) and Facilitators and barriers to PCC in everyday practice. The Ethics Committee, School of Medicine, University of Zagreb approved the project. The study will be carried out in close collaboration with the European Association for Quality and Patient Safety in Primary Care (EQuiP) and the European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN). The study will be coordinated by the Department of Family Medicine, School of Medicine University of Zagreb (Croatia). The project is supported by the EGPRN Grant. Results: GPs/FPs attitudes towards person-centeredness will be described and investigated in correlation to sociodemographic data and work stress in each participating European country. GPs/FPs facilitators and barriers to practicing PCC in everyday practice will be analysed. Data will be analysed using software package STATISTICA 7.1 (StatSoft Inc, Tulsa, OK, USA), and P < .05 will be considered statistically significant. Conclusions: Regardless of the specific context of care that is highly dependent on the patient, physician and healthcare system characteristics, PCC represents a core value of family medicine that should be implemented in GPs/FPs everyday work across Europe

Insights from Primary Care Practice during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Informing the Development of an EQuiP Position Statement for Advancing the Health Sector

The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge challenge for primary care (PC), its organisation and processes, the people working there and its interfaces with the wider healthcare system. The fight against COVID-19 has emphasised the critical role of PC: to serve as the first, and for most patients, the only point of contact with healthcare professionals during a pandemic surge. Mid-2020, an international research consortium led by Ghent University set up the PRICOV-19 study to research how PC practices in 37 European countries and Israel were organised during the COVID-19 pandemic to guarantee safe, efficient, effective, patient-centred, and equitable care. Also, the shift in roles and tasks and the wellbeing of staff members were researched. PRICOV-19 also aimed to study the association with practice- and healthcare system characteristics. In total, more than 5,000 PC practices filled in an online survey, making PRICOV-19 the largest and most comprehensive study on this topic ever done in Europe. The findings derived from PRICOV-19 have the potential to guide policymakers, politicians, national primary care colleges, and institutes tasked with training future General Practitioners (GPs) in enhancing the preparedness of primary care systems throughout Europe for the post-COVID-19 era, as well as for any future outbreaks of infectious diseases. The insights generated from this study can also be utilized to bolster primary care systems in mitigating the deleterious health effects of COVID-19 (or other future epidemics), easing the strain on hospitals, and supporting the implementation of effective vaccination and public health measures. It is worth noting that strengthening primary care is increasingly important given the mounting challenges posed by factors such as population ageing, the increasing burden of chronic diseases, and persistent societal inequities. Method: Presentation of the draft EQuiP position statement Interactive discussion about the different statements in the document: When the number of participants allows, the group will be divided into smaller groups, each focusing on one or two statements including the following themes: • The infrastructure, workforce and research • The role of telemedicine and digitalisation • The cooperation and communication between public health and primary care • The provision of equitable care and collaboration to deliver integrated care • The safety of care delivered • The well-being of the health workforce • Training of doctors and students within the practice Plenary reporting of the discussion in the small groups Formulating amendments to the text Ideally, the workshop should be scheduled in the morning to allow the primary authors to make any necessary revisions in the hours immediately following the session. Later in the afternoon, the updated text will be presented to all attending EQuiP members, and appropriate measures will be taken to ensure that the document is approved as an official EQuiP position statement. Aim: The objective of this workshop is to foster consensus among the current members of EQuiP regarding the insights gained from the PRICOV-19 data, specifically in relation to the organization and quality of primary care, and to develop recommendations for enhancing future preparedness in this field. By facilitating this discussion, the workshop aims to make a meaningful contribution to the ongoing refinement of the existing draft version of the EQuiP position statement. Ultimately, the insights and recommendations generated through this workshop will be instrumental in securing the statement's final approval and acceptance by conference attendees