Mitchell, S. orcid.org/0000-0002-1477-7860, Loew, J., Millington-Sanders, C. et al. (1 more author) (2016) Providing end-of-life care in general practice : findings of a national GP questionnaire survey. British Journal of General Practice, 66 (650). e647-e653. ISSN 0960-1643
Abstract
Background: With increasing numbers of people living with complex life-limiting multimorbidity in the community, consideration must be given to improving the organisation and delivery of high-quality palliative and end-of-life care (EOLC).
Aim: To provide insight into the experience of GPs providing EOLC in the community, particularly the facilitators and barriers to good-quality care.
Design and setting: A web-based national UK questionnaire survey circulated via the Royal College of General Practitioners, NHS, Marie Curie, and Macmillan networks to GPs.
Method: Responses were analysed using descriptive statistics and an inductive thematic analysis.
Results: Responses were received from 516 GPs, who were widely distributed in terms of practice location. Of these, 97% felt that general practice plays a key role in the delivery of care to people approaching the end of life and their families. Four interdependent themes emerged from the data: continuity of care — which can be difficult to achieve because of resource concerns including time, staff numbers, increasing primary care workload, and lack of funding; patient and family factors — with challenges including early identification of palliative care needs and recognition of the end of life, opportunity for care planning discussions, and provision of support for families; medical management — including effective symptom-control and access to specialist palliative care services; and expertise and training — the need for training and professional development was recognised to enhance knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards EOLC.
Conclusion: The findings reveal enduring priorities for policy, commissioning, practice development, and research in future primary palliative care.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2016 British Journal of General Practice. |
Keywords: | end-of-life care; palliative care; primary care; qualitative research; survey |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 24 Apr 2020 09:12 |
Last Modified: | 24 Apr 2020 09:12 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Royal College of General Practitioners |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.3399/bjgp16x686113 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:159828 |