ArticleBJGP open2023
Optimising personal continuity: a survey of GPs' and older patients' views.
Article in BJGP open, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 9 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled 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.
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.
Who cites it
9 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Attributes of family physician encounters valued by older adults: a systematic review.BMC primary care · 2025Pooled it
- Optimising personal continuity for older patients in general practice: a cluster randomised stepped wedge pragmatic trial.BMJ open · 2024Trial
- Optimising personal continuity in general practice: process evaluation of a toolkit.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2026Article
- Continuity of care for all? Associations between migration background and personal continuity among persons aged 50 and older in Dutch primary care: a registry-based observational study.Family practice · 2025Observational
- Improving continuity of care in Finnish primary health care: Insights from a nationwide qualitative study of primary care physicians.The European journal of general practice · 2025Article
- Patient perceptions of relational continuity in England: insights from two cross-sectional surveys.BJGP open · 2025Article
- Relationship between continuity of primary care and hospitalisation for patients with COPD: population-based cohort study from South Korea.BMJ open respiratory research · 2024Article
- The decline in relationship continuity in England: can a European perspective help?The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2024Article
- The Wall of Evidence for Continuity of Care: How Many More Bricks Do We Need?Annals of family medicineArticle
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundPersonal continuity - having a GP who knows their patients and keeps track of them - is an important dimension of continuity of care and is associated with lower mortality rates, higher quality of life, and reduced healthcare costs. In recent decades it has become more challenging for GPs to provide personal continuity owing to changes in society and health care.
aimTo investigate GPs' and older patients' views on personal continuity and how personal continuity can be improved. DESIGN &
settingCross sectional survey study in The Netherlands.
methodA digital and postal survey was sent to 499 GPs and 1599 patients aged 65 years or older. Results were analysed using descriptive statistics for quantitative data and thematic analysis for open questions.
resultsIn total, 249 GPs and 582 patients completed the surveys. A large majority of GPs (92-99%) and patients (91-98%) felt it was important for patients to see their own GP for life events or psychosocial issues. GPs and patients provided suggestions on how personal continuity can be improved. The thematic analysis of these suggestions identified nine themes: 1) personal connection, 2) GP accessibility and availability, 3) communication about (dis)continuity, 4) GP responsibility, 5) triage, 6) time for the patient, 7) actions by third parties, 8) team continuity, and 9) GP vocational training.
conclusionBoth GPs and older patients still place high value on personal continuity in the context of a changing society. GPs and patients provided a wide range of suggestions for improving personal continuity. The authors will use these suggestions to develop interventions for optimising personal continuity in general practice.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.