BJGP Open: championing global primary health care
BJGP Research & Publishing Conference 2024
The BJGP Research & Publishing Conference will be returning on 22 March 2024, at RCGP Headquarters in London. It is an exceptional opportunity for researchers at all stages of their careers to acquire new research skills, present their work in a constructive, peer-reviewed environment, and connect with others. See past conferences' programmes and abstracts, and book your ticket before 7 December 2023 for Early Bird pricing.
Submit your abstract via the BJGP Research & Publishing Conference website before 23:59 on Friday 13 December.
COVID research in the community
Effective therapeutics given early to high-risk ambulatory patients with COVID-19 could improve outcomes and reduce overall healthcare burden, but the need for isolation makes conducting site visits challenging. Most studies have taken place in the hospital setting, but only a small proportion of patients with COVID-19 require hospitalisation. Francis et al demonstrated that it is feasible to conduct a purely virtual study in non-hospitalised patients with COVID-19, with detailed daily assessments and study medication administered via nebuliser.
Highlights
Latest Articles
Recent Features
Delayed cancer diagnosis
While primary care physicians play a key role in cancer detection, they can find cancer diagnosis challenging, and some patients have considerable delays between presentation and onward referral. In this 23-country qualitative study, European primary care physicians reflect on cases where they were slow to think of or act on a possible cancer diagnosis.
Electronic health record data assets
The range and scope of electronic health record data assets in the UK has recently increased, mainly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This narrative review collected data from the Health Data Research Innovation Gateway, websites, other published sources, and key informants to summarise and compare the large primary care resources available for research purposes. This update on the continually evolving UK landscape of primary care EHR-linked databases will enable researchers to choose the data resource most suited to their needs.
Starting your hearing health journey
The effects of unmanaged hearing loss are significant and include an increased risk of social isolation, poor mental health, dementia, and leaving the workforce early. Despite this, people wait an average of 10 years before seeking help. Rolfe, Ozmen, and Maru's editorial on starting your hearing health journey provides top tips for GPs and highlights the Royal National Institute for Deaf People's 3-minute online hearing test.
Parents of children with intellectual disability
Parents in this group are at increased risk of mental and physical health difficulties compared with other parents, and are likely to regularly seek medical treatment in general practice for their own and their child's health concerns. This new systematic review explores these parents' experiences of general practice support when caring for a child with intellectual disability, highlighting the importance of continuity and a supportive, understanding relationship with the GP.