Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40750333›Full record

ArticleBJGP open2026

Enhancing understanding of interventions to increase relational continuity in general practice: a realist review protocol.

Serge Engamba, Jane Smith, Nada Khan, Kate Sidaway-Lee, Patrick Burch, Tom Marshall, Phil Evans, Denis Pereira Gray, Rob Anderson

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in BJGP open, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing 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

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

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

9 authors.

Serge EngambaExeter Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx), University of Exeter, Exeter, UK s.engamba@exeter.ac.uk.
Jane SmithExeter Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx), University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Nada KhanExeter Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx), University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Kate Sidaway-LeeSt Leonard's Research Practice, Exeter, UK.
Patrick BurchDivision of Population Health, Health Services Research & Primary Care, The University of Manchester, Manchester, UK.
Tom MarshallDepartment of Applied Health Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
Phil EvansExeter Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx), University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.
Denis Pereira GraySt Leonard's Research Practice, Exeter, UK.
Rob AndersonExeter Collaboration for Academic Primary Care (APEx), University of Exeter, Exeter, UK.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundRelational continuity of care (RCC), which is characterised by an ongoing therapeutic relationship between patients and their primary care providers, is critical for ensuring high-quality care in general practice. Despite its importance, challenges, such as staffing shortages, policy shifts, and evolving patient needs, often impede its consistent delivery. With the new GP contract in England highlighting the need for primary care providers to monitor and deliver relational continuity, it is more crucial than ever to understand how best to achieve it.

aimTo explore how, why, and under what conditions interventions to improve relational continuity are successfully implemented in general practice. DESIGN &

settingThe realist review will be supported by an expert stakeholder panel and a patient advisory group to consider the diverse and dynamic settings of general practice, and generate contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes configurations exploring how interventions to enhance RCC in general practice work.

methodThrough the synthesis of diverse international evidence sources, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods studies, as well as grey literature, the review will develop an understanding of the mechanisms that produce relational continuity, the contexts in which these mechanisms operate, and the outcomes they produce for the health system, practices, practitioners, and patients.

conclusionThe findings will provide data to inform future research and refine strategies and policies that support the effective delivery of relational continuity, which in turn may lead to improved patient outcomes and enhanced care experiences.

Indexed as

continuity of patient caregeneral practicephysician–patient relationshipprimary care deliveryprimary health carequality of carerealist approachtherapeutic relationships

Identifiers

PMID40750333
PMCPMC13540356

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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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.