Evidence map›Paper›PMID 36698100›Full record

ArticleBMC health services research2023

Practitioners' views on community implementation of point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in the UK: a qualitative interview study.

Joseph N A Akanuwe, Aloysius Niroshan Siriwardena, Luc Bidaut, Pauline Mitchell, Paul Bird, Daniel Lasserson, Patricia Apenteng, Richard Lilford

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMC health services research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 12 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
12citing papers in PubMed
2.8field-weighted citation impact, top 10% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

12 citing papers in PubMed, 13 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
  2. Implementing point-of-care ultrasound (PoCUS) in UK primary care: current and future perspectives.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

8 authors at 4 institutions in 1 country.

Joseph N A AkanuweCommunity and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, England.
Aloysius Niroshan SiriwardenaCommunity and Health Research Unit, School of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, England. nsiriwardena@lincoln.ac.uk.
Luc BidautSchool of Computer Science, College of Science, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, England.
Pauline MitchellSchool of Health and Social Care, University of Lincoln, Lincoln, England.
Paul BirdInstitute for Translational Medicine Research & Development, University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, West Midlands Academic Health Science Network, Birmingham, England.
Daniel LassersonWarwick Medical School, University of Warwick, Coventry, England.
Patricia Apenteng
Richard LilfordInstitute of Applied Health Research, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, England.
University of Lincoln · GBUniversity Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust · GBUniversity of Birmingham · GBUniversity of Warwick · GB

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundImplementing Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) in community practice could help to decide upon and prioritise initial treatment, procedures and appropriate specialist referral or conveyance to hospital. A recent literature review suggests that image quality, portability and cost of ultrasound devices are all improving with widening indications for community POCUS, but evidence about community POCUS use is needed in the UK. We aimed to explore views of clinical practitioners, actively using ultrasound, on their experiences of using POCUS and potential facilitators and barriers to its wider implementation in community settings in the UK.

methodsWe conducted a qualitative interview study with practitioners from community and secondary care settings actively using POCUS in practice. A convenience sample of eligible participants from different clinical specialties and settings was recruited using social media adverts, through websites of relevant research groups and snowball sampling. Individual semi-structured interviews were conducted online using Microsoft Teams. These were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analysed using a Framework approach supported by NVivo 12.

resultsWe interviewed 16 practitioners aged between 40 and 62 years from different professional backgrounds, including paramedics, emergency physicians, general practitioners, and allied health professionals. Participants identified key considerations and facilitators for wider implementation of POCUS in community settings in the UK: resource requirements for deployment and support of working devices; sufficient time and a skilled workforce; attention to training, education and support needs; ensuring proper governance, guidelines and quality assurance; workforce considerations; enabling ease of use in assisting decision making with consideration of unintended consequences; and more robust evidence to support perceptions of improved patient outcomes and experience.

conclusionsPOCUS could be useful for improving patient journey and health outcomes in community care, but this requires further research to evaluate outcomes. The facilitators identified could help make community POCUS a reality.

Indexed as

Point-of-Care SystemsPoint-of-Care TestingAdultAllied Health PersonnelHumansMiddle AgedQualitative ResearchUnited KingdomCommunity practiceFacilitatorsPoint of care ultrasoundPrehospital carePrimary careUltrasound practitioners

Identifiers

PMID36698100
PMCPMC9876652
OpenAlexW4318035715

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.