Health Services Research Research Articles

May 2024 Issue Review—A Trio of Content: Highlights of Health Services Research, May 2024 Articles, and Experiences From a Visiting Professor Program

May 2024 Issue Review—A Trio of Content: Highlights of Health Services Research, May 2024 Articles, and Experiences From a Visiting Professor Program

Sleep health primary care clinical resource.

Obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) and insomnia are the two most common sleep disorders and are frequent reasons for presentation in Australian general practice. This article describes the development, content and suggested uses of the online sleep health primary care clinical resource, which provides general practitioners and other primary healthcare professionals with evidence-based information on the aetiology, assessment, management, referral and ongoing care for OSA and chronic insomnia. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners-accepted clinical resource for the management of OSA and chronic insomnia in primary care was developed by the Australian National Centre for Sleep Health Services Research. The resource is designed to be used during consultations (eg following the steps in assessment and management and the use of online questionnaires for the assessment of OSA [Epworth Sleepiness Scale/OSA50/STOP-Bang] and insomnia [Sleep Condition Indicator/and Insomnia Severity Index]) and as an education/training tool (eg evidence on the role of continuous positive airway pressure/mandibular advancement splints for management of OSA and brief behavioural therapy for insomnia/cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia for the management of insomnia).

Explore the practice and barriers of collaborative health policy and system research-priority setting exercise in Ethiopia

IntroductionCollaboration is gaining prominence in the priority setting of Health Policy And System Research (HPSR). However, its practice and challenges are not well explored in Ethiopia. Understanding the practice and barriers of collaborative Health Policy and System Research will help design approaches and platforms for setting inclusive and participatory policy and system-level health research topics. This paper explores the practice and barriers of collaborative HPSR-priority setting exercise in Ethiopia.MethodsThis study investigates the practice and barriers of collaborative health policy and system research priority-setting exercises in Ethiopia. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, we conducted Key Informant Interviews (KIIs) and an online self-administered survey with open-ended questionnaires to capture diverse perspectives from stakeholders involved in the research priority-setting process. Through conventional content analysis, we identified key contents related to current practices, challenges, and opportunities for enhancing collaboration in health policy and system research prioritization.ResultsOur findings reveal a complex landscape characterized by varying levels of stakeholder engagement, institutional capacity constraints, and competing priorities within the health research ecosystem. Despite notable efforts to foster collaboration, stakeholders identified persistent challenges such as limited resources, institutional fragmentation, and inadequate coordination mechanisms as barriers to effective priority-setting processes. The implications of our research extend beyond academic discourse, with direct relevance to health policy and system research practice in Ethiopia. By shedding light on the dynamics of collaborative priority-setting exercises, our findings offer valuable insights for policymakers, researchers, and practitioners seeking to enhance the effectiveness and inclusivity of health research prioritization processes. Addressing the identified barriers and leveraging existing strengths in the research ecosystem can contribute to more evidence-informed health policies and programs, ultimately improving health outcomes for Ethiopian populations.ConclusionsMost institutions do not apply health policy and system research-priority setting to conduct informed decision-making. The barriers explored were weak integration, lack of knowledge, system, and platforms for the priority setting of Health Policy and System Resreach. So, it is recommended to build skills of different actors in the Health Policy and System Research-priority setting exercise and design a system and platform to integrate different stakeholders for collaborative research topics priority setting.

Analysis of questionnaires from the perspective of hospitalization risk prediction. Systematic review

One of the key tasks facing the medical community and health professionals is the identification of patients at high risk of hospitalization, including emergency one. Currently, various approaches are used to obtain information about certain predictors in a patient that are as­sociated with an increased hospitalization risk, but there is no consensus on which of them are most effective.Aim. To summarize data from studies that has analyzed the prognostic value of various predictors used in questionnaires or patient surveys associated with an increased hospitalization risk.Material and methods. We search for full-text articles in 8 Russian and foreign electronic databases (Scopus, PubMed, BMC Health Services Research, BMJ Research, Google Scholar, e-library, Oxford Academic, Wiley Online Library), published in the period from January 1, 1993 to January 1, 2023 and containing information about questionnaires on hospitalization risk prediction. The study was carried out in 4 following stages: 1 — search for articles using keywords in electronic databases; 2 — duplicate elimination; 3 — search for full-text versions of articles and their assessment for compliance with inclusion/ exclusion criteria; 4 — data analysis, systematization of hospitalization predictors used in questionnaires.Results. In total, out of 28133 initial publications, 13 full-text papers describing studies that fully met the inclusion/exclusion criteria were admitted to stage 4 and were included in the final analysis. These studies were devoted to the description of 11 questionnaires, their modification or testing. The majority of the articles found (53,8%) were conducted in the United States. When analyzing questionnaires to assess the hospitalization risk, among 61 identified predictors, the following were most often used In questionnaires: "age ≥75 years"; "≥1 hospitalization within one to two years preceding filling out the questionnaire"; "taking ≥5 prescription medications"; "male sex"; "history of diabetes", and "satisfactory/unsatisfactory self-perceived health status". A more detailed analysis of questionnaires to assess the risk of one-year hospitalization among people ≥65 years old found that the following predictors were most often used: "age ≥75 years", "≥1 hospitalization in the period from one to two years before filling out the questionnaire", and "taking ≥3 prescription medications".Conclusion. Evidence is summarized on predictors used in questionnaires on hospitalization risk assessment. Additional research is needed to validate established predictors in the Russian population, their cause-and-effect relationship, and to search for novel predictors influencing the hospitalization risk among the working age and post-working age population.

Facilitating Culturally Competent Breast Imaging Care in South Asian Patients.

South Asians are a rapidly growing subset of the Asian population in the United States. They comprise people from multiple countries with diverse beliefs, languages, and cultural identities and values. The incidence of breast cancer is rising in South Asian women in the United States, with earlier onset and predilection for HER2-enriched tumors. Despite the rising incidence of breast cancer, participation in screening remains lower than other populations. Health care inequities in South Asian women are multifactorial and may be due to traditional health beliefs and practices, language barriers, cultural differences, and lack of overall awareness. Developing a culturally sensitive environment in breast imaging clinic practice can lead to improved patient care and adherence. Given the scarcity of data specific to the South Asian population in United States, there is a need for health service researchers and practice leaders to obtain more high-quality data to understand the needs of South Asian patient populations.

Developing impact from the HIPPO study: Surgery and health systems research

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Family Self-Support in Managing Down Syndrome Children: A Qualitative Study.

Background and Aim. Down syndrome (DS) is the most common reason for disabilities caused by genetic disorders. Due to the special nature of this disease and the special needs of children with Down syndrome, they are required to receive their families' support. Therefore, the recognition of their problems and needs and also the alternatives for resolving them and promoting their life quality are very useful. Also, since very limited qualitative studies have been conducted, it seems necessary to design a qualitative study. Method. This qualitative study was conducted by the content analysis method and through purposeful sampling method with the participation of 26 participants including 15 mothers, 6 fathers, 3 sisters, and 2 brothers of DS children in 2022-2023. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews. Findings. Using the content analysis method of Graneheim and Lundman (2004), the main theme was "Family self-supporting in protecting Down syndrome children." The subthemes were seven including "trying to find information-support resources," "Giving importance to child's health," "religious beliefs of the family," "child moral education, helping to child's relative self-support," "developing familial support," and "developing child's social interactions." Conclusion and Recommendations. The findings of this study showed that family is the main source of fulfilling the needs of children and their life challenges through using efficient self-support methods. This study introduced family self-support methods in terms of DS children in a way that other families can also manage the problems of their children more efficiently. The present study can be used by trustees of DS to support them and their families. Considering the existence of many problems in children with Down syndrome and the involvement of families, it is suggested that policymakers and community health managers provide the basis for receiving services and social support. For example, it is possible to strengthen the screening systems in the country to diagnose the disease on time and take quick action to solve this problem. Also, by increasing the health insurance coverage and fair distribution of the support resources needed by these people, it promoted the quality of life for them and their families. Also, health policymakers in Iran can take action to increase life expectancy and reduce deaths caused by DS by improving the equitable distribution of health resources and services. Also, public policies should enhance supportive intermediation for prevention and life quality promotion and also decrease health challenges. They are also supposed to lessen the costs of health care. Furthermore, to support social organizations, health service providers and researchers should consider the development of intermediations for the health enhancing and life quality promoting of DS children.

Unravelling the Hurdles of Health Services Research (HSR): Staff Perception at a Teaching Hospital

This research explores the challenges encountered by staff at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) in conducting health services research (HSR). A descriptive-analytical approach was employed, utilizing a structured questionnaire adapted from Karimian et al. [1]. A total of 334 staff members from an array of careers at King Abdulaziz University Hospital (KAUH) were involved in this study, representing diverse professional backgrounds. Among the 188 respondents with prior research experience, the study found that 83.5% of 188 respondents with prior research experience had conducted health services research, with 79.8% encountering difficulties. 52.1% had applied research outcomes in their practice, which was seen as an instrumental aspect of HSR. Findings revealed that the major obstacles included; administrative issues such as limited integration of research outcomes into practice and unfair evaluations (78%), followed, respectively, by professional challenges such as job burden, financial challenges with funding and budgeting, facility-related issues like outdated research databases, and obstacles related to research skills. Additionally, the findings revealed a significant difference (P<0.05), with academic staff facing fewer professional obstacles than non-academic staff, and Saudi researchers reporting more professional obstacles than non-Saudis. The findings emphasize the importance of addressing financial and facility-related obstacles to facilitate the practical utilization of HSR in health policy and community health services. Enhancing funding processes, clarifying budgeting regulations, and improving the research ecosystem are essential to overcoming these challenges and harnessing HSR's potential to improve healthcare access, quality, and cost-effectiveness.

Overcoming challenges in real-world evidence generation: An example from an Adult Medical Care Coordination program.

The Adult Medical Care Coordination program ("the program") was implemented at Mayo Clinic to promote patient self-management and improve 30-day unplanned readmission for patients with high risk for readmission after hospital discharge. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the program compared to usual care using a pragmatic, stepped wedge cluster randomized trial ("stepped wedge trial"). However, several challenges arose including large differences between the study arms. Our goal is to describe the challenges and present lessons learned on how to overcome such challenges and generate evidence to support practice decisions. We describe the challenges encountered during the trial, the approach to addressing these challenges, and lessons learned for other learning health system researchers facing similar challenges. The trial experienced several challenges in implementation including several clinics dropping from the study and care disruptions due to COVID-19. Additionally, there were large differences in the patient population between the program and usual care arms. For example, the mean age was 76.8 for the program and 68.1 for usual care. Due to these differences, we adapted the methods using the propensity score matching approach that is traditionally applied to observational designs and adjusted for differences in observable characteristics. When conducting pragmatic research, researchers will encounter factors beyond their control that may introduce bias. The lessons learned include the need to weigh the tradeoffs of pragmatic design elements and the potential value of adaptive designs for pragmatic trials. Applying these lessons would promote the successful generation of evidence that informs practice decisions.

Challenges and solutions of conducting dementia clinical trials: A palliative care at home pilot for persons with dementia.

Recruitment and retention are common challenges in clinical trials, particularly with older adults and their caregivers who often benefit from palliative care but have significant strain from caregiving. In recent years, there has been an expansion in home-based palliative care programs, especially for patients with dementia. Because these programs often rely on physicians or advanced practice nurses, they are quite costly and may be difficult to staff due to workforce shortages. We created a novel program of home-based palliative care for patients with advanced dementia and their families, which centers around a community health worker, a social worker, and a nurse. We report on challenges our trial encountered and corresponding solutions. We enrolled 30 patients and their 30 caregivers in our pilot trial of home-based palliative care. We found two significant barriers to enrollment: (1) the electronic health record was insufficient to determine the severity of patients' dementia; and (2) rates of follow-up survey completion were low, with completion rates at 6 months between 14 and 44%. We created an iterative training process to determine dementia severity from electronic health records and applied person-centered approaches to improve survey completion. Electronic health records are not set up to include discrete fields for dementia severity, which makes enrollment of older adults with dementia in a clinical trial challenging. The strain of caring for a loved one with advanced dementia may also make participation in health-services research difficult for patients and their families. Novel approaches have the potential to counteract these challenges, improve recruitment and retention, and ultimately improve care for people with dementia and their caregivers.

Fidelity, pragmatism and the “grey line” in between—exploring the delivery of a pragmatic physical activity randomised controlled trial—a secondary analysis

BackgroundIntervention fidelity in health services research has been poor with a reported lack of understanding about what constitutes pragmatic adaptation of interventions and what constitutes failure to maintain intervention fidelity. However, the challenges facing those delivering such interventions have not been thoroughly explored.The aims of this study were to critically explore the challenges in maintaining fidelity experienced by physiotherapy staff and support workers when delivering a complex intervention for older people living with frailty.MethodsThis study is a secondary analysis of data from a process evaluation of a large randomised controlled trial (RCT). The process evaluation employed qualitative methodologies with mixed methods including a variety of data collection methods, including participant observation, semi-structured interviews and documentary analysis. Thematic analysis was used to make sense of the data.ResultsMany therapy staff felt ongoing confusion about what was acceptable to adapt and what needed to follow the protocol exactly. We found that some therapy staff were able to embrace the challenges of pragmatically adapting interventions while maintaining intervention fidelity, others stuck rigidly to the protocol and failed to adapt interventions where it was necessary.ConclusionIt was clear that the understanding of fidelity and pragmatism was poor. While pragmatic trials are vital to replicate real world clinical practice, further guidance may need to be developed in order to guide the level of adaptation that is acceptable before fidelity is undermined.

Self-Reported Social Determinants of Health and Area-Level Social Vulnerability

Many health care systems are investing resources in identifying social determinants of health (SDoH) needs and facilitating interventions among the populations they serve. Because self-reported SDoH information is lacking, area-level measures are often used to estimate needs and direct resources. To describe the large-scale deployment of SDoH assessments by a health system and determine the extent to which self-reported SDoH needs identified therein are associated with census tract-level social vulnerability measured using the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). This cross-sectional study assessed SDoH needs between January 1, 2020, and April 30, 2023, in both payer and clinical care settings. Modalities included telephonic outreach, face-to-face clinical interactions, self-entry into a tablet or kiosk, and web-based survey tools. Participants included individuals who responded to the assessment and had sufficient information for census tract identification. Respondents included both Highmark Health Plan members and nonmembers. Health plan members responded to the assessment through health plan programs or platforms, and both members and nonmembers responded to assessments during inpatient or outpatient encounters with the affiliated health system. Overall and domain-specific SDoH needs self-reported through assessments, and severity and complexity of needs identified. Residential social vulnerability measures included overall SVI and the 4 conceptual themes comprising overall SVI. In total, 841 874 assessments were recorded for 401 697 individuals (55.1% women; median [IQR] age, 55 [41-70] years). Social determinants of health needs were identified in 120 769 assessments (14.3%). Across all SDoH domains, increasing SVI was associated with a higher positivity rate (eg, 11.2% of those residing in the lowest-risk SVI quintile reported a need compared with 22.7% among those residing in the highest-risk quintile). Associations varied by SDoH domain and SVI theme. After adjusting for demographic and screening characteristics, odds of positive screening among those residing in the highest-risk SVI quintile were 1.74 (95% CI, 1.62-1.86) to 3.73 (95% CI, 3.48-4.00) times the odds among those residing in lowest risk quintile. In this cross-sectional study, the overall level of SDoH needs generally corresponded to area-level vulnerability. Some SDoH domains appeared far more sensitive to community characteristics than others. Notably, even among individuals from the highest-risk areas, the positive screening rate was roughly 1 in 4. These findings underscore the importance of individual-level SDoH data for service provision planning and health services research.

Using natural language processing in emergency medicine health service research: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Natural language processing (NLP) represents one of the adjunct technologies within artificial intelligence and machine learning, creating structure out of unstructured data. This study aims to assess the performance of employing NLP to identify and categorize unstructured data within the emergency medicine (EM) setting. We systematically searched publications related to EM research and NLP across databases including MEDLINE, Embase, Scopus, CENTRAL, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. Independent reviewers screened, reviewed, and evaluated article quality and bias. NLP usage was categorized into syndromic surveillance, radiologic interpretation, and identification of specific diseases/events/syndromes, with respective sensitivity analysis reported. Performance metrics for NLP usage were calculated and the overall area under the summary of receiver operating characteristic curve (SROC) was determined. A total of 27 studies underwent meta-analysis. Findings indicated an overall mean sensitivity (recall) of 82%-87%, specificity of 95%, with the area under the SROC at 0.96 (95% CI 0.94-0.98). Optimal performance using NLP was observed in radiologic interpretation, demonstrating an overall mean sensitivity of 93% and specificity of 96%. Our analysis revealed a generally favorable performance accuracy in using NLP within EM research, particularly in the realm of radiologic interpretation. Consequently, we advocate for the adoption of NLP-based research to augment EM health care management.

Assessments and Action on Disparities in Care Delivery

This issue of NEJM Catalyst Innovations in Care Delivery includes articles, case studies, and research reports on inequities and disparities in care delivery, remote patient monitoring, virtual care clinics, value-based procurement, and a health system research and education division.

Factors that influence presentation to an emergency department during systemic anti-cancer therapy: An exploratory qualitative study

PurposeTo explore factors that influence presentation to an emergency department during ambulatory systemic anti-cancer therapy. MethodsThis study was an exploratory qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. A purposive sample of adult patients with any cancer who had commenced systemic anti-cancer therapy in the ambulatory setting up to six months prior participated in semi-structured interviews between November 2016–December 2017. Interviews were transcribed verbatim, and data analysed thematically using a template analysis approach. ResultsTwenty patients and four caregivers took part. Five themes were generated from the interview data: 1) the unknown and unpredictable; 2) a change of lifestyle; 3) social determinants and access; 4) trust in care providers; and 5) the unavailability of care. ConclusionAs the number of systemic anti-cancer agents and patients eligible for them continues to grow, identifying, implementing and evaluating initiatives to mitigate emergency department presentations present an important area for health services research. Addressing timely access to trusted care and enhancing patient capacity for self-management present important areas for nurse-led system innovation. Findings from this study offer important insights into where and how nurses can mitigate emergency department presentations for individuals receiving systemic anti-cancer therapy by enabling accessible, coordinated and person-centred cancer care.

Family Involvement in the Care of Hospitalized Older Adults: Protocol for a Qualitative Evidence Synthesis.

Older adults are frequently hospitalized. Family involvement during these hospitalizations is incompletely characterized in the literature. This study aimed to better understand how families are involved in the care of hospitalized older adults and develop a conceptual model describing the phenomenon of family involvement in the care of hospitalized older adults. We describe the protocol of a qualitative evidence synthesis (QES), a systematic review of qualitative studies. We chose to focus on qualitative studies given the complexity and multifaceted nature of family involvement in care, a type of topic best understood through qualitative inquiry. The protocol describes our process of developing a research question and eligibility criteria for inclusion in our QES based on the SPIDER (Sample, Phenomenon of Interest, Design, Evaluation, and Research type) tool. It describes the development of our search strategy, which was used to search MEDLINE (via Ovid), Embase (via Elsevier), PsycINFO (via Ovid), and CINAHL Complete (via EBSCO). Title and abstract screening and full-text screening will occur sequentially. Purposive sampling may be used depending on the volume of studies identified as eligible for inclusion during our screening process. Descriptive data regarding included individual studies will be extracted and summarized in tables. The results from included studies will be synthesized using qualitative methods and used to develop a conceptual model. The conceptual model will be presented to community members via engagement panels for further refinement. As of September 2023, we have assembled a multidisciplinary team including physicians, nurses, health services researchers, a librarian, a social worker, and a health economist. We have finalized our search strategy and executed the search, yielding 8862 total citations. We are currently screening titles and abstracts and anticipate that full-text screening, data extraction, quality appraisal, and synthesis will be completed by summer of 2024. Conceptual model development will then take place with community engagement panels. We anticipate submitting our manuscript for publication in the fall of 2024. This paper describes the protocol for a QES of family involvement in the care of hospitalized older adults. We will use identified themes to create a conceptual model to inform further intervention development and policy change. PROSPERO 465617; https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/display_record.php?ID=CRD42023465617. PRR1-10.2196/53255.

Development and validation of the Trust in Multidimensional Healthcare Systems Scale (TIMHSS)

ContextThe COVID-19 pandemic has reignited a commitment from the health policy and health services research communities to rebuilding trust in healthcare and created a renewed appetite for measures of trust for system monitoring and evaluation. The aim of the present paper was to develop a multidimensional measure of trust in healthcare that: (1) Is responsive to the conceptual and methodological limitations of existing measures; (2) Can be used to identify systemic explanations for lower levels of trust in equity-deserving populations; (3) Can be used to design and evaluate interventions aiming to (re)build trust.MethodsWe conducted a 2021 review of existing measures of trust in healthcare, 72 qualitative interviews (Aug-Dec 2021; oversampling for equity-deserving populations), an expert review consensus process (Oct 2021), and factor analyses and validation testing based on two waves of survey data (Nov 2021, n = 694; Jan-Feb 2022, n = 740 respectively).FindingsWe present the Trust in Multidimensional Healthcare Systems Scale (TIMHSS); a 38-item correlated three-factor measure of trust in doctors, policies, and the system. Measurement of invariance tests suggest that the TIMHSS can also be reliably administered to diverse populations.ConclusionsThis global measure of trust in healthcare can be used to measure trust over time at a population level, or used within specific subpopulations, to inform interventions to (re)build trust. It can also be used within a clinical setting to provide a stronger evidence base for associations between trust and therapeutic outcomes.

Does the Innovation Fund Improve Healthcare Provision? A Critical Assessment of the Status of Implementing Successful Innovation Fund Projects into Healthcare Practice

Since 2015, the Federal Joint Committee (G-BA)'s Innovation Fund has been supporting projects in health services research and new health service models ("Neue Versorgungsformen", NVF). By the end of 2022, 211 projects in the NVF category had been funded. A key objective is the transfer of successful projects into standard care. This article analyzes previous projects regarding their incorporation into routine care based on transfer recommendations of the Innovation Fund Committee ("Innovationsausschuss" IA). Descriptive analysis of all projects completed by August 1, 2023 with transfer recommendations in the "NVF" funding stream. Presentation by topic, project duration, time until IA transfer decision, categorization, and number of institutions and organizations (recipients) addressed per project, their feedback published on the G-BA website, response rates per recipient group, and a content classification and interpretation of exemplary feedback. Recommendations based on the results and their discussion in an expert workshop. Out of 57 NVF projects, 17 had a transfer recommendation. A total of 57 feedback responses were received from a total of 431 recipients addressed by the IA across these projects. Response rates varied significantly. One-third of inquiries to the G-BA and its member organizations received a response (31%), while only every fifth inquiry to federal states (18%) and professional societies (18%) got a response. Less than one in ten inquiries to the Federal Ministry of Health (8%), administrative bodies (6%), and the German Medical Association (0%) received a response. Project-specific feedback within a recipient group was often contradictory or limited to regional scope. The transfer process reveals significant structural and procedural obstacles regarding the incorporation of projects evaluated as successful into routine health care. To ensure that funding from the innovation fund is most effectively used, there needs to be a realistic chance of successful transfer of positive project outcomes into routine care. The DNVF recommends stronger involvement of rule-competent institutions, mandatory publication of responses, structured moderation of the transfer process, expanding types of selective contracts, financing of implementation phases and of studies drawing on results across successful NVF projects.

Patient experiences of information-sharing and patient-centred care across the broad landscape of primary care practice and provision: a nationally representative survey of Australian adults

BackgroundAustralian government strategies and frameworks have been developed in recent years to encourage the integration and coordination of primary care delivery; including patient-centred approaches to clinical and preventative care, and health promotion. This study aims to explore patient experiences of information-sharing and patient-centred care across various primary care clinical settings, with a particular focus on clinical encounters with GPs, naturopaths, osteopaths and acupuncturists.MethodsData about healthcare utilisation and experiences from a 63-item cross-sectional survey obtained from a nationally representative sample of Australian adults aged ≥ 18 years were analysed. Chi-square and Kruskal-Wallis H tests were used to explore differences in the experiences of knowledge and information sharing during GP consultations among those who also consulted with a naturopath, osteopath or acupuncturist, compared those who had not. Logistic regression was used to investigate correlations between participants perceptions about GP consultation outcomes, and the GP’s information-sharing behaviour or perceived experience of patient-centredness.ResultsAcross 2354 participants, verbal explanation (76.3%) and/or individualised handouts (16.8%) were the most common type of information shared in GP consultations. Individuals who consulted with a GP and a naturopath, an osteopath, or an acupuncturist reported a lower rate of receiving a verbal explanation from their GP but higher rate of receiving other types of information sources including handouts. Over one quarter of study participants who visited a GP did not discuss any of their health information with their GP. Information sharing was lower for individuals who also visited a naturopath, osteopath or acupuncturist. Participants scored their consultations with a GP as patient-centred, but these scores were lower among participants who also consulted with at least one other primary care practitioner type included in the study.ConclusionsPublic health and health services researchers, policymakers and leaders of primary care professions have a role and responsibility to ensure practitioners are confident and competent in sharing health information with their patients that considers their health literacy needs, and the importance of patient-centred care. Research focussed on a more in-depth understanding of the differences and relationships observed across the primary care landscape in this study is recommended.

The role of governance in shaping health system reform: a case study of the design and implementation of new health regions in Ireland, 2018–2023

BackgroundEffective governance arrangements are central to the successful functioning of health systems. While the significance of governance as a concept is acknowledged within health systems research, its interplay with health system reform initiatives remains underexplored in the literature. This study focuses on the development of new regional health structures in Ireland in the period 2018–2023, one part of a broader health system reform programme aimed at greater universalism, in order to scrutinise how aspects of governance impact on the reform process, from policy design through to implementation.MethodsThis qualitative, multi-method study draws on document analysis of official documents relevant to the reform process, as well as twelve semi-structured interviews with key informants from across the health sector. Interviews were analysed according to thematic analysis methodology. Conceiving governance as comprising five domains (Transparency, Accountability, Participation, Integrity, Capacity) the research uses the TAPIC framework for health governance as a conceptual starting point and as initial, deductive analytic categories for data analysis.ResultsThe analysis reveals important lessons for policymakers across the five TAPIC domains of governance. These include deficiencies in accountability arrangements, poor transparency within the system and vis-à-vis external stakeholders and the public, and periods during which a lack of clarity in terms of roles and responsibilities for various process and key decisions related to the reform were identified. Inadequate resourcing of implementation capacity, competing policy visions and changing decision-making arrangements, among others, were found to have originated in and continuously reproduced a lack of trust between key institutional actors. The findings highlight how these challenges can be addressed through strengthening governance arrangements and processes. Importantly, the research reveals the interwoven nature of the five TAPIC dimensions of governance and the need to engage with the complexity and relationality of health system reform processes.ConclusionsLarge scale health system reform is a complex process and its governance presents distinct challenges and opportunities for stakeholders. To understand and be able to address these, and to move beyond formulaic prescriptions, critical analysis of the historical context surrounding the policy reform and the institutional relationships at its core are needed.