PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Martin Roland

Publications and source records attributed to Martin Roland.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2003

Validation of the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Disability Questionnaire.

The study was designed to validate a translated, culturally adapted questionnaire. We examined the reliability, validity, and responsiveness of the Japanese version of the Roland-Morris Questionnaire (RDQ) when assessing disability in Japanese patients with low back pain. The RDQ is a reliable, validated scale used to measure disability caused by low back pain. However, no validated Japanese version of this questionnaire is available. A series of 214 outpatients with low back pain participated in this validation study. The patients were given the RDQ and the SF-36, and assessed their pain and global rating of health. Among them, 57 who were clinically stable were given the RDQ again 2 weeks later. The reliability was examined based on the test-retest method and internal consistency. Sufficient reliability was demonstrated with a Chronbach's. coefficient of 0.85, and the reproducibility for the 30 patients was r = 0.91. The principal component analysis showed unidimensionality. The RDQ score of the 133 patients was significantly improved after treatment. The Japanese version of the RDQ is a useful scale that is easy to use with reliability, validity, and responsiveness when assessing patients with low back pain.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

What predicts patients' interest in the Internet as a health resource in primary care in England?

OBJECTIVES: To identify what factors predict patients' interest in using Internet health information in the light of poor uptake of a free, guided Internet service in one inner-city general practice. METHODS: Questionnaires were administered over a five-day period to consecutive adult patients attending two Manchester general practices: an inner-city practice serving a relatively deprived patient population where the free Internet service had previously been available, and a suburban practice serving a relatively affluent population. Data were analysed using multiple regression to identify predictors of self-reported interest in using the Internet for health information. RESULTS: A total of 753 (74%) patients completed the questionnaire although analyses were restricted to 660 (65%) cases. Independent predictors of patient-reported interest in getting health information from the Internet were (in order of relative 'importance'): positive outcome expectancy (i.e. the patient's strength of belief that it would enable them to deal better with their health); previous use of health websites; positive 'self-efficacy' (i.e. patients' confidence in their ability to use the technology); higher education; a positive attitude to getting health information from alternative sources; social deprivation; and having school-age children living at home. Level of Internet access was an important determinant of self-efficacy, but home access was the key predictor of outcome expectancy and past use of 'e-health'. CONCLUSIONS: Access, demographics and, particularly, motivational factors all influence patients' interest in the Internet as a health resource. Proposals to encourage more widespread use of digital health information need to take account of this complexity and not deal with access issues alone.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Telephone triage by nurses in primary care: what is it for and what are the consequences likely to be?

OBJECTIVES: To examine the perceptions that those working in primary care have about the purpose and impact that telephone triage by nurses may have on their clinical roles and identities. METHODS: Twenty-six semi-structured interviews were carried out with general practitioners (GPs), practice nurses and practice managers from a purposive sample of nine practices in one health district in the North West of England. Analysis drew on the techniques of constant comparison and discourse analysis. RESULTS: Four themes emerged from the data: justifying triage - the respondents justify the introduction of telephone triage by emphasising the managerial benefits of controlling access and by suggesting the benefits this may bring to the patient-clinician relationship; categorising patients - patients are categorised and allocated on the basis of their biomedical diagnoses to the nurses or GPs in the practice; changing roles and identities - the hierarchy of patients and conditions created by allocating patients in this way strengthens and extends the professional hierarchy within a practice; and achieving a balance between conflicting aims - there is tension between the managerial need to triage patients according to their biomedical diagnosis and the aspirations that health care professionals have to personal and patient-centred care. CONCLUSION: Telephone triage by nurses may be effective at managing patient access to GPs but the need to categorise patients according to biomedical and managerial criteria needs to be balanced against the professional roles and identities that those working in general practice aspire to.

Appointments and Schedules↗
PubMed2003

Qualitative study of patients' perceptions of the quality of care for depression in general practice.

BACKGROUND: Research into quality of care in primary mental health care has largely focused on the role of the general practitioner (GP) in the detection and management of patients' problems. AIM: To explore depressed patients' perceptions of the quality of care received from GPs. DESIGN OF STUDY: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. SETTING: General practices in Greater Manchester. METHOD: Purposive sampling and semi-structured interviewing of 27 patients who had received care from 10 GPs for depression. RESULTS: Quality of care in depression depends on good communication between the doctor and the patient, but patients who are depressed often have difficulty in discussing their problems with doctors. They are also unlikely to be active in seeking care; for example, in making follow-up appointments, especially when they are uncertain that depression is a legitimate reason for seeing the doctor. Patients sometimes accept care that does not meet professional standards, either because of low expectations of what the National Health Service (NHS) can provide, or because of low self-worth associated with their problem. CONCLUSION: The depressed person may feel that they do not deserve to take up the doctor's time, or that it is not possible for doctors to listen to them and understand how they feel. Doctors need to be active in providing care that meets professional standards. We advocate a model of care in which patients with depression are followed up systematically.

Adult↗
PubMed2003

Is the quality of care in general medical practice improving? Results of a longitudinal observational study.

BACKGROUND: The demand for increased accountability within health care has led to a myriad of government initiatives in the United Kingdom, with the aim of improving care, setting minimum standards, and addressing poor performance. AIM: To assess the quality of care in English general practice in the year 2001 compared with 1998, in terms of access, interpersonal care, and clinical care (chronic disease management, elderly care, and mental health care). DESIGN OF STUDY: Observational study in a purposive sample of general practices in England. SETTING: Twenty-three general practices in England--eight in North Thames, seven in the North West, and eight in the South West. RESULTS: Outcome measures were: quality of chronic disease management (angina, adult asthma and type 2 diabetes from practice questionnaires and medical record review), elderly care and mental health care (from practice questionnaires), access to care, continuity of care and interpersonal care (from practice and patient questionnaires) and costs (mean change in practice budget between 1998 and 2001). There were significant improvements in quality of care in terms of organisational access to services (P = 0.016), practice organisation of chronic disease management (P = 0.039), and the quality of angina care (P = 0.003). There were no significant changes in quality scores for mental health care, elderly care, access and interpersonal care. The mean practice budget rose by 3.4% between 1998 and 2001 (adjusted for inflation). CONCLUSION: These findings provide evidence of improvements in some aspects of the quality of care, achieved at modest cost. This was achieved during a time when the National Health Service was undergoing a series of reforms. However, primary care in England is characterised by variation in care, with significant improvements still possible.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Users' understanding of medical knowledge in general practice.

Much emphasis is now being placed on the quality of medical care, and various ways are being developed to assess the medical knowledge of general practitioners. It is increasingly recognised that the users perspective on health care is important, and that the views of health care professionals do not and cannot represent patients' views. In order to explore whether or not a large-scale survey, which asked people to rate their doctors' medical knowledge, yielded meaningful results, this paper draws on findings from a study involving in-depth interviews with 26 lay people who had already completed the General Practice Assessment Survey questionnaire. When completing the questionnaires, patients had been asked to consider the 'technical care' provided by their general practitioners and to make a judgement about their doctors' medical knowledge. When interviewed at a later date, some people explained that they defined medical knowledge as knowledge of 'disease and treatments', while others defined it as knowledge of the 'whole person', and some defined a knowledgeable doctor as one who would acknowledge uncertainty. Patients appeared to have made judgements about their general practitioners' medical knowledge based on many factors, such as their experience of illness, perceptions of professional training, contact with other health care professionals in both primary and secondary care, and exposure to the media. The paper discusses the nature of medical knowledge, and concludes that although patient surveys are useful for the evaluation of interpersonal care and access to care, asking patients about their general practitioners' medical knowledge may yield invalid results. This is partly because patients defined medical knowledge in different ways, and partly because it appears that relatively few patients had enough knowledge about their own particular illnesses, or about possible alternative treatments, to make informed judgements about their general practitioners' medical knowledge.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2002

User involvement in clinical governance.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate the involvement of users in clinical governance activities within Primary Care Groups (PCGs) and Trusts (PCTs). Drawing on policy and guidance published since 1997, the paper sets out a framework for how users are involved in this agenda, evaluates practice against this standard and suggests why current practice for user involvement in clinical governance is flawed and why this reflects a flaw in the policy design as much as its implementation. DESIGN: Qualitative data comprising semi-structured interviews, reviews of documentary evidence and relevant literature. SETTING: Twelve PCGs/PCTs in England purposively selected to provide variation in size, rurality and group or trust status. PARTICIPANTS: Key stakeholders including Lay Board members (n = 12), Chief Executives (CEs) (n = 12), Clinical Governance Leads (CG leads) (n = 14), Mental Health Leads (MH leads) (n = 9), Board Chairs (n = 2) and one Executive Committee Lead. RESULTS: Despite an acknowledgement of an organizational commitment to lay involvement, in practice very little has occurred. The role of lay Board members in setting priorities and implementing and monitoring clinical governance remains low. Beyond Board level, involvement of users, patients of GP practices and the general public is patchy and superficial. The PCGs/PCTs continue to rely heavily on Community Health Councils (CHCs) as a conduit or substitute for user involvement; although their abolition is planned, their role to be fulfilled by new organizations called Voices, which will have an expanded remit in addition to replacing CHCs. CONCLUSIONS: Clarity is required about the role of lay members in the committees and subcommittees of PCGs and PCTs. Involvement of the wider public should spring naturally from the questions under consideration, rather than be regarded as an end in itself.

Community Participation↗
PubMed2002

What dimensions underlie patient responses to the General Practice Assessment Survey? A factor analytic study.

BACKGROUND: Patient self-report measures of primary care are being used increasingly for quality assessment and improvement. The General Practice Assessment Survey (GPAS) is a widely used measure. However, it is important that the measures used are valid and interpretable. Factor analysis is a useful method to assist in validation. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to determine the underlying structure of responses to the GPAS. METHODS: Factor analysis of data from a number of patient surveys was carried out using the GPAS in primary care. RESULTS: Analysis indicated that three factors underlie responses to the GPAS. These were named "access", "patient-centredness" and "nursing". These factors were replicated in a second sample of GPAS survey data. CONCLUSION: Responses to the GPAS can best be summarized in terms of three underlying factors, which supports previous conceptual work. These factors may also have utility for reducing the overall length of the GPAS, and in reducing the need for multiple hypothesis testing associated with the use of the original scales.

Factor Analysis, Statistical↗
PubMed2002

A pragmatic randomised controlled trial of a prompt and reminder card in the care of people with epilepsy.

BACKGROUND: The quality of epilepsy care has often been noted to be poor and fragmentary. Most people with epilepsy are solely under the care of their general practitioner (GP). Many patients report medication side-effects and poor seizure control. Most GPs accept responsibility for epilepsy care; however, many report problems with knowledge of epilepsy and nearly all support guidance on epilepsy management. AIM: To determine whether a GP-completed prompt and reminder card is effective in improving the quality of epilepsy care when used opportunistically. DESIGN OF STUDY: Primary care-based pragmatic cluster-randomised controlled trial. SETTING: People with active epilepsy (n = 1275) from 82 practices. METHOD: Practices were randomly categorised as 'control', 'doctor-held card' (card in patient records), or 'patient-held card' practices. RESULTS: Compared with control practices, recording of seizure frequency was significantly increased in doctor-held card practices (57.4% versus 42.8%, P = 0.003) but not in patient-held card practices (44.6% versus 42.8%). No differences were found in the proportion of seizure-free patients (doctor-held card [56.0%] versus control [51.5%]; patient-held card [58.1%] versus control [51.5%]) or in the proportion on monotherapy. Patients in both intervention groups reported more medication-related side-effects and patients in doctor-held card practices were less satisfied with information provision about epilepsy. Participating GPs found the card useful. The doctor-held card was retrieved and completed more often than the patient-held card. CONCLUSIONS: A doctor-held prompt and reminder card is effective in improving the recording of key clinical information for people with epilepsy, is felt to be useful by GPs, and is completed more often than a patient-held card. However it does not improve outcomes and may result in less patient-centred care.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2002

A qualitative study of the cultural changes in primary care organisations needed to implement clinical governance.

BACKGROUND: It is commony claimed that changing the culture of health organisations is a fundamental prerequisite for improving the National Health Service (NHS). Little is currently known about the nature or importance of culture and cultural change in primary care groups and trusts (PCG/Ts) or their constituent general practices. AIMS: To investigate the importance of culture and cultural change for the implementation of clinical governance in general practice by PCG/Ts, to identify perceived desirable and undesirable cultural attributes of general practice, and to describe potential facilitators and barriers to changing culture. DESIGN: Qualitative: case studies using data derived from semi-structured interviews and review of documentary evidence. SETTING: Fifty senior non-clinical and clinical managers from 12 purposely sampled PCGs or trusts in England. RESULTS: Senior primary care managers regard culture and cultural change as fundamental aspects of clinical governance. The most important desirable cultural traits were the value placed on a commitment to public accountability by the practices, their willingness to work together and learn from each other, and the ability to be self-critical and learn from mistakes. The main barriers to cultural change were the high level of autonomy of practices and the perceived pressure to deliver rapid measurable changes in general practice. CONCLUSIONS: The culture of general practice is perceived to be an important component of health system reform and quality improvement. This study develops our understanding of a changing organisational culture in primary care; however, further work is required to determine whether culture is a useful practical lever for initiating or managing improvement.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗