Biomedical subjects

Mandy Moffat

Publications and source records attributed to Mandy Moffat.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Poor communication may impair optimal asthma care: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: Despite asthma being primarily managed in general practice and primary care, there is little research into the issues and tools which may impact on managing poorly controlled asthma in this setting. OBJECTIVE: To explore the views of health care professionals (HCPs) towards asthma guidelines and self-management plans (SMPs) to identify why these are not used routinely in general practice. METHODS: Data from 54 HCPs [GPs and practice nurses (PNs)] in north-east Scotland were collected via qualitative interviews and focus groups. Participant views and experience of asthma guidelines and SMPs were explored. RESULTS: Participants had mainly positive attitudes towards guidelines and SMPs, although both were used only when deemed suitable by the individual. Suitability depended on individual patient issues (e.g. psychosocial factors, level of control) and/or professional issues (e.g. ease of use, time available, job roles). Patient issues were viewed as impacting on asthma control directly and, indirectly, as the main reason for not using guidelines or SMPs with a patient. HCPs reported lacking necessary communication skills for dealing with patient asthma control issues, particularly where these were non-medical. Professional and organizational issues such as training and communication were also perceived as impairing asthma management. CONCLUSION: Our findings indicate that guidelines are seen as providing the 'why' of helping asthma patients' self-manage but not the 'what to...' or 'how to...' communicate. Poor professional-patient communication seems largely to explain the poor uptake of SMPs and guideline use in general practice and primary care. This limitation is more obvious to professionals when they are working with patients with poorly controlled asthma. There is a need to identify key communication skills for effective professional-patient partnership in adult asthma management, and to develop robust strategies for effectively training GPs and PNs in enhancing these skills.

Adult↗

PubMed2006

Sub-optimal patient and physician communication in primary care consultations: its relation to severe and difficult asthma.

INTRODUCTION: Asthma control can be influenced by a range of non-medical issues, including psychosocial factors. Little is known about the views of patients, particularly those with severe and/or difficult asthma, towards their asthma control and their asthma-related primary care consultations. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To explore patients' experiences of their asthma and primary care asthma consultations in order to identify target areas for intervention. METHODS: This was a qualitative study of 14 asthma patients based in grounded theory. Questions were asked about: asthma understanding; control issues; and interactions with primary care health professionals. Data were analysed using the constant comparative method and framework approach. RESULTS: Participants with severe and/or difficult asthma normalised control issues, were reluctant to discuss non-medical factors with healthcare professionals (HCPs), reported poorer communication with HCPs, and were reluctant to raise relevant but non-medical factors in the consultation. CONCLUSIONS: Our data identifies that patients, particularly those with severe and/or difficult asthma and poor control, underplay symptoms and do not discuss non-medical factors which may impact on asthma control in primary care consultations. This poor communication is associated with patients underestimating disease severity and/or what could be achieved in terms of disease control. Training HCPs in the use of patient-centred communication skills may optimise asthma management in primary care.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Undergraduate students' attitudes to communication skills learning differ depending on year of study and gender.

The authors wished to assess medical students' attitudes towards communication skills learning, and to validate the use of the Communication Skills Attitude Scale (CSAS) in a different population. This cross-sectional study of Years 1-3 MBChB students, University of Aberdeen, in 2002-03 (overall response rate=86.2%) identified significant differences in attitudes to communication skills teaching by year of study and gender. PAS (positive attitudes scores) for Year 1 were significantly higher than those for Years 2 and 3. NAS (negative attitudes scores) for Year 1 were significantly lower than the scores for Year 2 but not Year 3. The scores for Years 2 and 3 were not significantly different. Female students had a significantly higher mean PAS score and lower mean NAS score than males, and were more likely to disagree that their communication and clinical skills were competent. While cohort effects may be present, it seems that attitudes towards communication skills learning are positive initially, becoming less so until students experience interacting with patients. Differences between male and female students reflect those seen in previous studies. The findings presented support the use of the CSAS as an appropriate tool to measure attitudes in a wide population of medical students.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Epidemiology teaching: student and tutor perceptions.

There is concern that undergraduate medical students are not exposed to appropriate opportunities to learn and understand the fundamental principles of epidemiology. In this study the aim was to explore students' and tutors' perceptions of the epidemiology teaching in the first three years of the Aberdeen, UK, medical undergraduate curriculum, with particular reference to the teaching in the Community Course. The study adopted a qualitative approach: six individual interviews and two focus-group meetings with quota samples of medical students in the fourth year, and one focus-group meeting with a purposive sample of Community Course tutors. It was found that most students acknowledged difficulty in learning epidemiology because they perceive the topic to be dry, boring and difficult to understand. However, there is a dawning awareness that it is important and its relevance becomes more obvious to students as they progress through the medical course, especially if they have undertaken an intercalated BSc Medical Sciences degree. Students want practical and clinically relevant teaching. Most students are exam driven and will only make efforts to learn topics that are assessed. Tutors also find epidemiology to be difficult and want their teaching to be clinically relevant.

Adult↗