Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38443780›Full record

ArticleBMC primary care2024

Quality of care in Belgian general practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of the cross-sectional PRICOV-19 study.

Esther Van Poel, Pierre Vanden Bussche, Benoît Pétré, Cécile Ponsar, Claire Collins, Michel De Jonghe, Anne-Françoise Donneau, Nicolas Gillain, Michèle Guillaume, Sara Willems

Open access · goldAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in BMC primary care, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 41% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Article
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

10 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.

Esther Van PoelDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium. Esther.VanPoel@UGent.be.
Pierre Vanden BusscheDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Benoît PétréDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
Cécile PonsarInstitute of Health and Society, University of Louvain, Louvain, Belgium.
Claire CollinsDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Michel De JongheCentre Académique de Médecine Générale, Université Catholique de Louvain, Brussels, Belgium.
Anne-Françoise DonneauDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
Nicolas GillainDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
Michèle GuillaumeDepartment of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Liège, Liège, Belgium.
Sara WillemsDepartment of Public Health and Primary Care, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium.
Ghent University · BEUniversity of Liège · BEUCLouvain · BE

Funding

European General Practice Research Network' European General Practice Research Network'Koning Boudewijnstichting Koning Boudewijnstichting
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic immensely impacted care provision, including quality of care in general practice. This paper aimed: (1) to assess how Belgian general practices acted upon the six dimensions of quality of care during COVID-19; (2) to study differences between the three Belgian regions; and (3) to benchmark the performance of the Belgian practices against the performance in other European countries.

methodsThe data collected from 479 Belgian practices during 2020-2021 using an online survey as part of the international cross-sectional PRICOV-19 study were analyzed.  Hereby, descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Thirty-four survey questions related to the six dimensions of quality of care were selected as outcome variables. The adjusted regression models included four practice characteristics as covariates: practice type, being a teaching practice for GP trainees, multidisciplinarity of the team, and payment system.

resultsBelgian practices made important organizational changes to deliver high-quality care during COVID-19. Most practices (n = 259; 56.1%) actively reached out to vulnerable patients. Limitations to the practice building or infrastructure threatened high-quality care in 266 practices (55.5%). Infection prevention measures could not always be implemented during COVID-19, such as using a cleaning protocol (n = 265; 57.2%) and providing a separate doctor bag for infection-related home visits (n = 130; 27.9%). Three hundred and sixty practices (82.0%) reported at least one safety incident related to a delayed care process in patients with an urgent condition. The adjusted regression analysis showed limited significant differences between the Belgian regions regarding the quality of care delivered. Belgian practices demonstrated varied performance compared to other European countries. For example, they excelled in always checking the feasibility of isolation at home but reported more patient safety incidents related to timely care than at least three-quarters of the other European countries.

conclusionsFuture studies using different design methods are crucial to investigate which country and practice characteristics are associated with delivering high-quality care.

Indexed as

COVID-19General PracticeBelgiumCross-Sectional StudiesHumansPandemicsQuality of Health CareCOVID-19EffectivenessEfficiencyEquityGeneral practicePatient safetyPerson-centerednessPRICOV-19Primary health careQuality of careTimeliness

Identifiers

PMID38443780
PMCPMC10916333
OpenAlexW4392456583

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
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.