ArticleBMC family practice2006
A qualitative study in rural and urban areas on whether--and how--to consult during routine and out of hours.
Article in BMC family practice, 2006. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 19 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
19 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Why Do People Choose Emergency and Urgent Care Services? A Rapid Review Utilizing a Systematic Literature Search and Narrative Synthesis.Academic emergency medicine : official journal of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine · 2017Pooled it
- Pooled it
- Why do patients with 'primary care sensitive' problems access ambulance services? A systematic mapping review of the literature.BMJ open · 2015Pooled it
- Understanding access to general practice through the lens of candidacy: a critical review of the literature.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2024Review
- Article
- General and Vulnerable Population's Satisfaction With the Healthcare System in Urban and Rural Areas: Findings From the European Social Survey.International journal of public health · 2022Article
- Community Urgent Care Use Following Implementation of the Veterans Affairs Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks Act.Medical care · 2021Article
- Characteristics of non-conveyed patients in emergency medical services (EMS): a one-year prospective descriptive and comparative study in a region of Sweden.BMC emergency medicine · 2020Article
- Reconceptualising Rural Cancer Inequalities: Time for a New Research Agenda.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2020Article
- Deciding whether to consult the GP or an emergency department: A qualitative study of patient reasoning in Switzerland.The European journal of general practice · 2019Article
- Regional variations of perceived problems in ambulatory care from the perspective of general practitioners and their patients - an exploratory focus group study in urban and rural regions of northern Germany.BMC family practice · 2017Article
- Validation of a new measure of availability and accommodation of health care that is valid for rural and urban contexts.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2017Article
- Professional learning needs in using video calls identified through workshops.BMC medical education · 2016Article
- Factors influencing professional decision making on unplanned hospital admission: a qualitative study.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2012Article
- Monitoring access to out-of-hours care services in Scotland - a review.Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine · 2011Review
- Basic public health services delivered in an urban community: a qualitative study.Public health · 2011Article
- Incidence of emergency contacts (red responses) to Norwegian emergency primary healthcare services in 2007--a prospective observational study.Scandinavian journal of trauma, resuscitation and emergency medicine · 2009Article
- Striking variations in consultation rates with general practice reveal family influence.BMC family practice · 2007Article
- [Community diagnosis using qualitative techniques of expectations and experiences in a health area in need of social transformation].Atencion primariaArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPatients vary widely when making decisions to consult primary care. Some present frequently with trivial illness: others delay with serious disease. Differences in health service provision may play a part in this. We aimed to explore whether and how patients' consulting intentions take account of their perceptions of health service provision.
methodsFour focus groups and 51 semi-structured interviews with 78 participants (45 to 64 years) in eight urban and rural general practices in Northeast and Southwest Scotland. We used vignettes to stimulate discussion about what to do and why. Inductive analysis identified themes and explored the influence of their perceptions of health service provision on decision-making processes.
resultsAnticipated waiting times for appointments affected consulting intentions, especially when the severity of symptoms was uncertain. Strategies were used to deal with this, however: in cities, these included booking early just in case, being assertive, demanding visits, or calling out-of-hours; in rural areas, participants used relationships with primary care staff, and believed that being perceived as undemanding was advantageous. Out-of-hours, decisions to consult were influenced by opinions regarding out-of-hours services. Some preferred to attend nearby emergency departments or call 999. In rural areas, participants tended to delay until their own doctor was available, or might contact them even when not on call.
conclusionPerceived barriers to health service access affect decisions to consult, but some patients develop strategies to get round them. Current changes in UK primary care are unlikely to reduce differences in consulting behaviour and may increase delays by some patients, especially in rural areas.
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