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Exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in Berlin, Germany

OBJECTIVES: Low-acuity patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) frequently have unmet ambulatory care needs. This qualitative study explores the patients’ views of an intervention aimed at education about care options and promoting primary care (PC) attachment. DESIGN: Qualitative telephon...

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Autores principales: Kümpel, Lisa, Oslislo, Sarah, Resendiz Cantu, Rebecca, Möckel, Martin, Heintze, Christoph, Holzinger, Felix
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BMJ Publishing Group 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10124305/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37085303
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-070054
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author Kümpel, Lisa
Oslislo, Sarah
Resendiz Cantu, Rebecca
Möckel, Martin
Heintze, Christoph
Holzinger, Felix
author_facet Kümpel, Lisa
Oslislo, Sarah
Resendiz Cantu, Rebecca
Möckel, Martin
Heintze, Christoph
Holzinger, Felix
author_sort Kümpel, Lisa
collection PubMed
description OBJECTIVES: Low-acuity patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) frequently have unmet ambulatory care needs. This qualitative study explores the patients’ views of an intervention aimed at education about care options and promoting primary care (PC) attachment. DESIGN: Qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with a subsample of participants of an interventional pilot study, based on a semi-structured interview guide. The data were analysed through qualitative content analysis. SETTING: The study was carried out in three EDs in the city centre of Berlin, Germany. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-two low-acuity ED consulters with no connection to a general practitioner (GP) who had participated in the pilot study were interviewed; (f/m: 15/17; mean age: 32.9 years). INTERVENTION: In the pilot intervention, ED patients with low-acuity complaints were provided with an information leaflet on appropriate ED usage and alternative care paths and they were offered an optional GP appointment scheduling service. Qualitative interviews explored the views of a subsample of the participants on the intervention. RESULTS: Interviewees perceived both parts of the intervention as valuable. Receiving a leaflet about appropriate ED use and alternatives to the ED was viewed as helpful, with participants expressing the desire for additional online information and a wider distribution of the content. The GP appointment service was positively assessed by the participants who had made use of this offer and seen as potentially helpful in establishing a long-term connection to GP care. The majority of patients declining a scheduled GP appointment expected no personal need for further medical care in the near future or preferred to choose a GP independently. CONCLUSIONS: Low-acuity ED patients seem receptive to information on alternative acute care options and prevailingly appreciate measures to encourage and facilitate attachment to a GP. Promoting PC integration could contribute to a change in future usage behaviour. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00023480.
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spelling pubmed-101243052023-04-25 Exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in Berlin, Germany Kümpel, Lisa Oslislo, Sarah Resendiz Cantu, Rebecca Möckel, Martin Heintze, Christoph Holzinger, Felix BMJ Open General practice / Family practice OBJECTIVES: Low-acuity patients presenting to emergency departments (EDs) frequently have unmet ambulatory care needs. This qualitative study explores the patients’ views of an intervention aimed at education about care options and promoting primary care (PC) attachment. DESIGN: Qualitative telephone interviews were conducted with a subsample of participants of an interventional pilot study, based on a semi-structured interview guide. The data were analysed through qualitative content analysis. SETTING: The study was carried out in three EDs in the city centre of Berlin, Germany. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty-two low-acuity ED consulters with no connection to a general practitioner (GP) who had participated in the pilot study were interviewed; (f/m: 15/17; mean age: 32.9 years). INTERVENTION: In the pilot intervention, ED patients with low-acuity complaints were provided with an information leaflet on appropriate ED usage and alternative care paths and they were offered an optional GP appointment scheduling service. Qualitative interviews explored the views of a subsample of the participants on the intervention. RESULTS: Interviewees perceived both parts of the intervention as valuable. Receiving a leaflet about appropriate ED use and alternatives to the ED was viewed as helpful, with participants expressing the desire for additional online information and a wider distribution of the content. The GP appointment service was positively assessed by the participants who had made use of this offer and seen as potentially helpful in establishing a long-term connection to GP care. The majority of patients declining a scheduled GP appointment expected no personal need for further medical care in the near future or preferred to choose a GP independently. CONCLUSIONS: Low-acuity ED patients seem receptive to information on alternative acute care options and prevailingly appreciate measures to encourage and facilitate attachment to a GP. Promoting PC integration could contribute to a change in future usage behaviour. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER: DRKS00023480. BMJ Publishing Group 2023-04-21 /pmc/articles/PMC10124305/ /pubmed/37085303 http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-070054 Text en © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/This is an open access article distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited, appropriate credit is given, any changes made indicated, and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) .
spellingShingle General practice / Family practice
Kümpel, Lisa
Oslislo, Sarah
Resendiz Cantu, Rebecca
Möckel, Martin
Heintze, Christoph
Holzinger, Felix
Exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in Berlin, Germany
title Exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in Berlin, Germany
title_full Exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in Berlin, Germany
title_fullStr Exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in Berlin, Germany
title_full_unstemmed Exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in Berlin, Germany
title_short Exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in Berlin, Germany
title_sort exploring the views of low-acuity emergency department consulters on an educational intervention and general practitioner appointment service: a qualitative study in berlin, germany
topic General practice / Family practice
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10124305/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37085303
http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2022-070054
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