AIMS: To explore factors that influence the use of general practice services by people with advanced COPD. METHOD: An exploratory qualitative study using in-depth interviews at home with 16 patients who had advanced COPD, recruited through general practices in south-east London. The Framework Approach was used to analyse interview transcripts. RESULTS: Interviewees had a mean age of 70 and a mean FEV1 of 24% predicted. All reported severe breathlessness. They contacted general practices for routine, urgent and emergency care. Contact was influenced by perceptions of ease of access, quality of relationship with their general practitioner (GP), and perceived disease severity and threat. Some patients wanted to avoid bothering the doctor or found travelling to the surgery too difficult. CONCLUSION: Factors other than need influenced patterns of health service use. Expectations of difficulty in access, and poor relationships with their GP, may have delayed help-seeking in severe acute exacerbations.
AIMS: To explore factors that influence the use of general practice services by people with advanced COPD. METHOD: An exploratory qualitative study using in-depth interviews at home with 16 patients who had advanced COPD, recruited through general practices in south-east London. The Framework Approach was used to analyse interview transcripts. RESULTS: Interviewees had a mean age of 70 and a mean FEV1 of 24% predicted. All reported severe breathlessness. They contacted general practices for routine, urgent and emergency care. Contact was influenced by perceptions of ease of access, quality of relationship with their general practitioner (GP), and perceived disease severity and threat. Some patients wanted to avoid bothering the doctor or found travelling to the surgery too difficult. CONCLUSION: Factors other than need influenced patterns of health service use. Expectations of difficulty in access, and poor relationships with their GP, may have delayed help-seeking in severe acute exacerbations.
Authors: Jenny Ure; Hilary Pinnock; Janet Hanley; Gillian Kidd; Emily McCall Smith; Alex Tarling; Claudia Pagliari; Aziz Sheikh; William MacNee; Brian McKinstry Journal: Prim Care Respir J Date: 2012-03
Authors: John A Ford; Andrew P Jones; Geoff Wong; Allan B Clark; Tom Porter; Tom Shakespeare; Ann Marie Swart; Nicholas Steel Journal: BMJ Open Date: 2015-09-18 Impact factor: 2.692
Authors: Eleni Epiphaniou; Cathy Shipman; Richard Harding; Bruce Mason; Scott A A Murray; Irene J Higginson; Barbara A Daveson Journal: Prim Care Respir J Date: 2014-03