The research potential of practice nurses: what contribution to primary health care research?

Primary health care (PHC) is at the core of effective, sustainable population healthcare. Although PHC research has been described as the missing link in the development of high-quality, evidence-based health care for populations, research outputs have been disappointingly low in Australia and overseas. This paper reviews the current status of PHC research in Australia, particularly relating to funding and research capacity building needed to conduct high quality and relevant research with significant transfer potential for practice and policy. It explores the likely contribution of research-trained practice nurses (R-T PNs) as study coordinators, rather than as independent nurse researchers, although this is certainly possible, and proposes adapting a successful secondary care research model for use in the PHC research setting.

General practice and the New Zealand health reforms--lessons for Australia?

New Zealand's health sector has undergone three significant restructures within 10 years. The most recent has involved a Primary Health Care Strategy, launched in 2001. Primary Health Organisations (PHOs), administered by 21 District Health Boards, are the local structures for implementing the Primary Health Care Strategy. Ninety-three percent of the New Zealand population is now enrolled within 79 PHOs, which pose a challenge to the well-established Independent Practitioner Associations (IPAs). Although there was initial widespread support for the philosophy underlying the Primary Health Care Strategy, there are concerns amongst general practitioners (GPs) and their professional organisations relating to its implementation. These centre around 6 main issues: 1. Loss of autonomy, 2. Inadequate management funding and support, 3. Inconsistency and variations in contracting processes, 4. Lack of publicity and advice around enrollment issues, 5. Workforce and workload issues, 6. Financial risks. On the other hand, many GPs are feeling positive regarding the opportunities for PHOs, particularly for being involved in the provision of a wider range of community health services. Australia has much to learn from New Zealand's latest health sector and primary health care reforms. The key lessons concern: The need for a national primary health care strategy, active engagement of general practitioners and their professional organisations, recognition of implementation costs, the need for infrastructural support, including information technology and quality systems, robust management and governance arrangements, issues related to critical mass and population/distance trade offs in service delivery models.

Meeting the needs of patients with cancer--a GP guide to support services.

BACKGROUND: A diagnosis of cancer places huge psychological and physical demands on individuals. Early stage cancer patients will frequently experience depression and elevated levels of anxiety. OBJECTIVE: This article summarises the available cancer services, categorised to address patient needs, and suggests suitable times to provide this information to patients. DISCUSSION: Cancer patients report a moderate to high need for help regarding their ability to cope with their illness and its treatment, emotional support, information provision and relations with staff at treatment centres. General practitioners are involved in cancer care, from initial screening to palliative care. Therefore it is essential that GPs are up-to-date with the available cancer services to assist in meeting patient needs in cancer care.

Over-the-counter codeine analgesic misuse and harm: characteristics of cases in Australia and New Zealand.

AIM: To describe the characteristics of clients addicted to over-the-counter (OTC) codeine analgesics presenting to an Auckland open-access clinic, and to compare them to clients admitted to a New Zealand detoxification unit, and in the Australian community. METHOD: Cross-sectional study of clients presenting to a regional, open-access detoxification clinic covering the Greater Auckland area between 1 January and 31 March 2010. RESULTS: Fifteen clients were analysed, and compared to 77 similar clients identified in Victoria and five other Australian States, and 7 clients admitted to a New Zealand detoxification unit. Cases in each cohort were consistent with those in the published literature, and appear to be similar to each other both demographically and in terms of the high average tablets consumption (49-65 tablets per day), the serious non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) adverse drug reactions identified, and the long duration of misuse. Many had a history of alcohol or other drug use and mental health disorder. CONCLUSIONS: This study has identified that controls on OTC codeine analgesics in both countries were not sufficient to limit non-medical use of these products. As a result, cases identified in these two countries escalated the number of self-administered tablets taken daily for misuse, resulting in codeine dependence and serious NSAID toxicity secondary to this dependence.

Addiction and addiction medicine: exploring opportunities for the general practitioner.

Addiction medicine deals with problems arising from the use of psychoactive substances, and encompasses the disciplines of general practice and primary care, psychiatry, psychology, internal medicine, public health, pharmacology and sociology. Addiction is a chronic, relapsing illness that is difficult to cure. There are now effective, evidence-based interventions for the prevention and treatment of substance misuse disorders. Harm minimisation and treatment are more cost-effective than policing and supply-reduction methods of responding to substance misuse.

General practitioners and cancer control.

Cancer is the leading cause of death among Australians, causing 28% of all deaths. The average general practitioner will only encounter about four new patients each year with a potentially fatal cancer. A GP's cancer-related workload mostly involves prevention, and dealing with patients with suspicious symptoms or concerns about possible cancer, or who may be at increased risk due to family history or lifestyle factors. GPs cover the full spectrum of cancer care from prevention to palliation, including providing psychosocial support to patients and their families and carers. GPs have a key role in early diagnosis and referral, follow-up and detection of recurrence, and survivorship. There is a developing role for GPs in cancer policy and research.

Information mastery and the 21st century doctor: change management for general practitioners.

The Internet and computers have brought immense change in how society deals with information. Uptake of these technologies has been disjointed and has occurred in a non-uniform way among general practitioners, compared with other professionals. Information mastery is a key 21st century skill that GPs should acquire. Applying "change management" concepts may help improve uptake of information mastery skills in general practice.

Primary health care research--essential but disadvantaged.

Primary health care is the foundation of effective, sustainable population health and is associated with higher patient satisfaction and reduced aggregate health spending. Although improving patient care requires a sound evidence base, rigorously designed studies remain under-represented in primary care research. The pace of research activity in general practice and the rate and quality of publications do not match the pace of structural change or the level of funding provided. Recruitment difficulties are a major impediment, fuelled by general practitioners' time constraints, lack of remuneration, non-recognition, and workforce shortages. Radical reform is required to redress imbalances in funding allocation, including: funding of GP Research Network infrastructure costs; formalising relationships between primary care researchers and academic departments of general practice and rural health; and mandating that research funding bodies consider only proposals that include in the budget nominal payments for GP participation and salaries for dedicated research nurses.

Primary care research--what in the world is going on?

Primary care research has been described as a "lost cause", and, although this claim has been strongly refuted, general practitioners publish less research than their colleagues in surgery, medicine and public health. Despite a fivefold increase in Australian general practice research papers from the 1980s to the 1990s, fewer than half of these focused on clinical topics. Trying to establish a global figure for expenditure on general practice and primary care research is difficult, but data show that public expenditure for primary care research is minimal in Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom--fewer than 1.50 dollars per capita in 2002-2003. Compared with hospital- and laboratory-based research, primary care receives significantly fewer resources, ranging from 3.2% of total public expenditure on health and medical research in the Netherlands to 6.8% in New Zealand. Government-led investment in interventions such as strengthening primary care departments and colleges and supporting primary care academics, establishing practice-based networks, fostering international initiatives for cross-national efforts, and engaging individual primary care practitioners in research projects, are all required to build research capacity in primary care.

Whole-body computed tomography screening: looking for trouble?

The benefits of whole-body CT screening need to be carefully weighed against the risks.