Evidence map›Paper›PMID 39938964›Full record

ArticleBMJ open2025

Role of general practitioner-led rural community hospitals in Sweden: a qualitative study.

Mante Hedman, Patrik Wennberg, Malin Sjöström, Margareta Brännström

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BMJ open, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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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

4 authors.

Mante HedmanPublic Health and Clinical Medicine, Umea University, Umeå, Sweden mante.hedman@regionvasterbotten.se.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9244-7082
Patrik WennbergPublic Health and Clinical Medicine, Family Medicine, Umea Universitet, Umea, Västerbotten, Sweden.
Malin SjöströmPublic Health and Clinical Medicine, Umea University, Umeå, Sweden.
Margareta BrännströmDepartment of Nursing, Umeå Universitet, Skellefteå, Sweden.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo explore rural general practitioners' (GPs') experiences of providing care in rural community hospitals (CHs) in northern Sweden.

designAn interview study, using qualitative content analysis.

settingThe study was conducted in Norrbotten and Västerbotten counties in Sweden and included eight rural CHs.

participantsSemi-structured interviews were conducted in 2018 with 15 rural GPs.

resultsTwo themes were identified: 'Being the hub in the patient's healthcare pathway' and 'Offering person-centred care far from hospital'. CHs are suitable for elderly, multimorbid and end-of-life patients, emphasising proximity, familiarity and discharge planning. They serve as primary care and intermediate hospital care hubs, collaborating with general hospitals and municipal caregivers. The rural GPs interviewed, as generalists, value holistic hospital patient care, and benefit from longitudinal patient knowledge. They highlighted these advantages and the cost-effectiveness of the CH model, arguing that it should be extended to urban regions. The rural GPs described their work situation as stimulating, but role conflicts in tight-knit communities, geographical distances and limited medical resources pose rural-specific ethical dilemmas.

conclusionsRural GPs value the holistic generalist perspective of CH care and emphasise the high-quality care that the CH setting enables them to provide. Despite rural-specific ethical dilemmas, they value the CH model and are concerned about its closures.

Indexed as

General PractitionersHospitals, RuralPhysician's RoleRural Health ServicesAdultAttitude of Health PersonnelFemaleHumansInterviews as TopicMaleMiddle AgedPatient-Centered CareQualitative ResearchSwedenAdult palliative careHealth Services for the AgedHospitalsOrganisation of health servicesPerson-Centered CarePrimary Health Care

Identifiers

PMID39938964
PMCPMC11822432

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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.