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Primary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploration of the challenges and changes in practice experienced by GPs and GP trainees

BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly changed general practice in the UK. Research is required to understand how General Practitioners (GPs) and GP trainees adjusted to these changes, so that beneficial changes might be sustained, and Primary Health Care (PHC) can be prepared for future chal...

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Autores principales: Grut, Minka, de Wildt, Gilles, Clarke, Joanne, Greenfield, Sheila, Russell, Alice
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9910752/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36758002
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280733
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author Grut, Minka
de Wildt, Gilles
Clarke, Joanne
Greenfield, Sheila
Russell, Alice
author_facet Grut, Minka
de Wildt, Gilles
Clarke, Joanne
Greenfield, Sheila
Russell, Alice
author_sort Grut, Minka
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly changed general practice in the UK. Research is required to understand how General Practitioners (GPs) and GP trainees adjusted to these changes, so that beneficial changes might be sustained, and Primary Health Care (PHC) can be prepared for future challenges. This study explored the experiences and perspectives of GP and GP trainees during the pandemic. METHODS: Remote, semi-structured interviews (n = 21) were conducted with GPs (n = 11) and GP trainees (n = 10), recruited from across the UK using convenience and purposive sampling. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interview data were analysed with an inductive thematic approach. RESULTS: Five overarching themes were identified: (1) ‘Thrown in at the deep end’; (2) Telemedicine: ‘it needs to be a happy balance’; (3) Delayed referrals and ‘holding’ patients; (4) The Covid Cohort–training in Covid; (5) Suggestions and lessons for the future of general practice’. GPs reported a turbulent and uncertain time of major changes to PHC. They described the benefits of technology in general medicine, particularly telemedicine, when used in a balanced manner, highlighting the need for accompanying teaching and guidelines, and the importance of patient preferences. Key tools to help GPs manage patients with delayed referrals to Secondary Care were also identified. CONCLUSION: Several key changes to general practice occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a rapid uptake of telemedicine. The pandemic exposed the strengths and limitations of normal general practice and highlighted the importance of workplace camaraderie. These findings contribute to the evidence base used to adapt PHC infrastructures as we emerge from the pandemic.
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spelling pubmed-99107522023-02-10 Primary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploration of the challenges and changes in practice experienced by GPs and GP trainees Grut, Minka de Wildt, Gilles Clarke, Joanne Greenfield, Sheila Russell, Alice PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: The COVID-19 pandemic has rapidly changed general practice in the UK. Research is required to understand how General Practitioners (GPs) and GP trainees adjusted to these changes, so that beneficial changes might be sustained, and Primary Health Care (PHC) can be prepared for future challenges. This study explored the experiences and perspectives of GP and GP trainees during the pandemic. METHODS: Remote, semi-structured interviews (n = 21) were conducted with GPs (n = 11) and GP trainees (n = 10), recruited from across the UK using convenience and purposive sampling. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Interview data were analysed with an inductive thematic approach. RESULTS: Five overarching themes were identified: (1) ‘Thrown in at the deep end’; (2) Telemedicine: ‘it needs to be a happy balance’; (3) Delayed referrals and ‘holding’ patients; (4) The Covid Cohort–training in Covid; (5) Suggestions and lessons for the future of general practice’. GPs reported a turbulent and uncertain time of major changes to PHC. They described the benefits of technology in general medicine, particularly telemedicine, when used in a balanced manner, highlighting the need for accompanying teaching and guidelines, and the importance of patient preferences. Key tools to help GPs manage patients with delayed referrals to Secondary Care were also identified. CONCLUSION: Several key changes to general practice occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including a rapid uptake of telemedicine. The pandemic exposed the strengths and limitations of normal general practice and highlighted the importance of workplace camaraderie. These findings contribute to the evidence base used to adapt PHC infrastructures as we emerge from the pandemic. Public Library of Science 2023-02-09 /pmc/articles/PMC9910752/ /pubmed/36758002 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280733 Text en © 2023 Grut et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Grut, Minka
de Wildt, Gilles
Clarke, Joanne
Greenfield, Sheila
Russell, Alice
Primary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploration of the challenges and changes in practice experienced by GPs and GP trainees
title Primary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploration of the challenges and changes in practice experienced by GPs and GP trainees
title_full Primary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploration of the challenges and changes in practice experienced by GPs and GP trainees
title_fullStr Primary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploration of the challenges and changes in practice experienced by GPs and GP trainees
title_full_unstemmed Primary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploration of the challenges and changes in practice experienced by GPs and GP trainees
title_short Primary health care during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative exploration of the challenges and changes in practice experienced by GPs and GP trainees
title_sort primary health care during the covid-19 pandemic: a qualitative exploration of the challenges and changes in practice experienced by gps and gp trainees
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9910752/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36758002
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0280733
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