Access to primary health care: perspectives of primary care physicians and community stakeholders

BACKGROUND

Action on the social determinants of health is important to strengthen primary health care and promote access among underserved populations. We report on findings from stakeholder consultations undertaken at one of the Canadian sites of the Innovative Models Promoting Access-to-Care Transformation (IMPACT) program, as part of the development of a best practice intervention to improve access to primary health care. The overarching objective of this qualitative study was to understand the processes, barriers, and facilitators to connect patients to health enabling community resources (HERs) to inform a patient navigation model situated in primary care.

METHODS

Focus groups and interviews were conducted with primary care physicians, and community health and social service providers to understand their experiences in supporting patients in reaching HERs. Current gaps in access to primary health care and the potential of patient navigation were also explored. We applied Levesque et al., (2013) access framework to code the data and four themes emerged: (1) Approachability and Ability to Perceive, (2) Acceptability and Ability to Seek, (3) Availability and Accommodation, and Ability to Reach, and (4) Appropriateness.

RESULTS

Determinants of access included patient and provider awareness of HERs, the nature of the patient-provider relationship, funding of HERs, integration of primary and community care services, and continuity of information. Participants' perspectives about the potential scope and role of a patient navigator provided valuable insight for the development of the Access to Resources in the Community (ARC) navigation model and how it could be embedded in a primary care setting.

CONCLUSION

Additional consultation with key stakeholders in the health region is needed to gain a broader understanding of the challenges in caring for primary care patients with social barriers and how to support them in accessing community-based primary health care to inform the design of the ARC intervention.

Improving access to primary healthcare for vulnerable populations in Australia and Canada: protocol for a mixed-method evaluation of six complex interventions

INTRODUCTION

Access to primary healthcare (PHC) has a fundamental influence on health outcomes, particularly for members of vulnerable populations. Innovative Models Promoting Access-to-Care Transformation (IMPACT) is a 5-year research programme built on community-academic partnerships. IMPACT aims to design, implement and evaluate organisational innovations to improve access to appropriate PHC for vulnerable populations. Six Local Innovation Partnerships (LIPs) in three Australian states (New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia) and three Canadian provinces (Ontario, Quebec and Alberta) used a common approach to implement six different interventions. This paper describes the protocol to evaluate the processes, outcomes and scalability of these organisational innovations.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The evaluation will use a convergent mixed-methods design involving longitudinal (pre and post) analysis of the six interventions. Study participants include vulnerable populations, PHC practices, their clinicians and administrative staff, service providers in other health or social service organisations, intervention staff and members of the LIP teams. Data were collected prior to and 3-6 months after the interventions and included interviews with members of the LIPs, organisational process data, document analysis and tools collecting the cost of components of the intervention. Assessment of impacts on individuals and organisations will rely on surveys and semistructured interviews (and, in some settings, direct observation) of participating patients, providers and PHC practices.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

The IMPACT research programme received initial ethics approval from St Mary's Hospital (Montreal) SMHC #13-30. The interventions received a range of other ethics approvals across the six jurisdictions. Dissemination of the findings should generate a deeper understanding of the ways in which system-level organisational innovations can improve access to PHC for vulnerable populations and new knowledge concerning improvements in PHC delivery in health service utilisation.

How effective are family-based and institutional nutrition interventions in improving children's diet and health? A systematic review

BACKGROUND

Effective strategies to improve dietary intake in young children are a priority to reduce the high prevalence of chronic non-communicable diseases in adulthood. This study aimed to assess the impact of family-based and school/preschool nutrition programs on the health of children aged 12 or younger, including the sustainability of these impacts and the relevance to socio-economic inequalities.

METHODS

A systematic review of literature published from 1980 to December 2014 was undertaken. Randomised controlled trials involving families with children aged up to 12 years in high income countries were included. The primary outcomes were dietary intake and health status. Results were presented in a narrative synthesis due to the heterogeneity of the interventions and outcomes.

RESULTS

The systematic search and assessment identified 39 eligible studies. 82% of these studies were set in school/preschools. Only one school study assessed the impact of involving parents systematically. The family-based programs which provided simple positive dietary advice to parents and regular follow-up reduced fat intake significantly. School and family-based studies, if designed and implemented well, increased F&V intake, particularly fruit. Effective school-based programs have incorporated role-models including peers, teachers and heroic figures, rewards and increased access to healthy foods. School nutrition programs in disadvantaged communities were as effective as programs in other communities.

CONCLUSIONS

Family and school nutrition programs can improve dietary intake, however evidence of the long-term sustainability of these impacts is limited. The modest overall impact of even these successful programs suggest complementary nutrition interventions are needed to build a supportive environment for healthy eating generally.

Equitable resourcing of primary health care in remote communities in Australia's Northern Territory: a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Improved Primary Health Care (PHC) utilisation is central to reducing the unacceptable morbidity and mortality rates characterising populations living in remote communities. Despite poorer health, significant inequity characterises the funding of PHC services in Australia's most remote areas. This pilot study sought to ascertain what funding is required to ensure equitable access to sustainable, high quality primary health care irrespective of geographical remoteness of communities.

METHODS

High performing remote Primary Health Care (PHC) services were selected using improvement measures from the Australian Primary Care Collaboratives Program and validated by health experts. Eleven PHC services provided data relating to the types of services provided, level of service utilisation, human resources, operating and capital expenses. A further four services that provide visiting PHC to remote communities provided information on the level and cost of these services. Demographic data for service catchment areas (including estimated resident population, age, Indigenous status, English spoken at home and workforce participation) were obtained from the Australian Bureau of Statistics 2011 census. Formal statistical inference (p-values) were derived in the linear regression via the nonparametric bootstrap.

RESULTS

A direct linear relationship was observed between the total cost of resident PHC services and population, while cost per capita decreased with increasing population. Services in smaller communities had a higher number of nursing staff per 1000 residents and provided more consultations per capita than those in larger communities. The number of days of visiting services received by a community each year also increased with population. A linear regression with bootstrapped statistical inference predicted a significant regression equation where the cost of resident services per annum is equal to $1,251,893.92 + ($1698.83 x population) and the cost of resident and visiting services is equal to $1,378,870.85 + ($2600.00 x population).

CONCLUSIONS

The research findings provide empirical evidence based on real costs to guide funding for remote PHC services that takes into account the safety and equity requirements for a minimum viable service. This method can be used as a transparent, coordinated approach to ensure the equitable delivery of sustainable, high quality PHC in remote communities. This will in turn contribute to improved health outcomes.

Increasing general practitioners' confidence and self-efficacy in managing obesity: a mixed methods study

OBJECTIVES

Internationally, general practitioners (GPs) are being encouraged to take an active role in the care of their patients with obesity, but as yet there are few tools for them to implement within their clinics. This study assessed the self-efficacy and confidence of GPs before and after implementing a weight management programme in their practice.

DESIGN

Nested mixed methods study within a 6-month feasibility trial.

SETTING

4 urban general practices and 1 rural general practice in Australia.

PARTICIPANTS

All vocationally registered GPs in the local region were eligible and invited to participate; 12 GPs were recruited and 11 completed the study.

INTERVENTIONS

The Change Programme is a structured GP-delivered weight management programme that uses the therapeutic relationship between the patient and their GP to provide holistic and person-centred care. It is an evidence-based programme founded on Australian guidelines for the management of obesity in primary care.

PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES

Self-efficacy and confidence of the GPs when managing obesity was measured using a quantitative survey consisting of Likert scales in conjunction with pro forma interviews.

RESULTS

In line with social cognitive theory, GPs who experienced performance mastery during the pilot intervention had an increase in their confidence and self-efficacy. In particular, confidence in assisting and arranging care for patients was improved as demonstrated in the survey and supported by the qualitative data. Most importantly from the qualitative data, GPs described changing their usual practice and felt more confident to discuss obesity with all of their patients.

CONCLUSIONS

A structured management tool for obesity care in general practice can improve GP confidence and self-efficacy in managing obesity. Enhancing GP 'professional self-efficacy' is the first step to improving obesity management within general practice.

TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER

ACTRN12614001192673; Results.

Equity of access to primary healthcare for vulnerable populations: the IMPACT international online survey of innovations

BACKGROUND

Improving access to primary healthcare (PHC) for vulnerable populations is important for achieving health equity, yet this remains challenging. Evidence of effective interventions is rather limited and fragmented. We need to identify innovative ways to improve access to PHC for vulnerable populations, and to clarify which elements of health systems, organisations or services (supply-side dimensions of access) and abilities of patients or populations (demand-side dimensions of access) need to be strengthened to achieve transformative change. The work reported here was conducted as part of IMPACT (Innovative Models Promoting Access-to-Care Transformation), a 5-year Canadian-Australian research program aiming to identify, implement and trial best practice interventions to improve access to PHC for vulnerable populations. We undertook an environmental scan as a broad screening approach to identify the breadth of current innovations from the field.

METHODS

We distributed a brief online survey to an international audience of PHC researchers, practitioners, policy makers and stakeholders using a combined email and social media approach. Respondents were invited to describe a program, service, approach or model of care that they considered innovative in helping vulnerable populations to get access to PHC. We used descriptive statistics to characterise the innovations and conducted a qualitative framework analysis to further examine the text describing each innovation.

RESULTS

Seven hundred forty-four responses were recorded over a 6-week period. 240 unique examples of innovations originating from 14 countries were described, the majority from Canada and Australia. Most interventions targeted a diversity of population groups, were government funded and delivered in a community health, General Practice or outreach clinic setting. Interventions were mainly focused on the health sector and directed at organisational and/or system level determinants of access (supply-side). Few innovations were developed to enhance patients' or populations' abilities to access services (demand-side), and rarely did initiatives target both supply- and demand-side determinants of access.

CONCLUSIONS

A wide range of innovations improving access to PHC were identified. The access framework was useful in uncovering the disparity between supply- and demand-side dimensions and pinpointing areas which could benefit from further attention to close the equity gap for vulnerable populations in accessing PHC services that correspond to their needs.