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Introduction: In June 2021, high-profile testimonials in the media about pain during intrauterine device (IUD) procedures in the UK prompted significant discussion across platforms including Twitter (subsequently renamed X). We examined a sample of Twitter postings (tweets) to gain insight into public perspectives and experiences., Methods: We harvested tweets posted or retweeted on 21-22 June 2021 which contained the search terms coil, intrauterine system, IUD or intrauterine. We analysed the dataset thematically and selected illustrative tweets with the authors' consent for publication., Results: Following deduplication and screening, we included 1431 tweets in our analysis. We identified testimonials with descriptions of varied pain experiences. Twitter users reported that clinicians had not warned them that pain could be severe or explained the options for pain relief. Some raised concerns about pain being minimised or dismissed and linked this to the management of women's pain in medicine more broadly. Twitter users described connecting to an online community with shared experiences as validating and used this as a springboard for collective action., Conclusions: While we acknowledge the limitations of our sample, this study highlights important perspectives and accounts relating to pain during IUD procedures. Our findings attest to the need for strategies to improve the patient experience for those opting for IUD as a clinical priority. Further research should explore IUD users' experiences, expectations and wishes around pain management., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: The need to increase exercise and decrease sedentary behaviour in people diagnosed with psychosis is well-recognised., Aims: We set out to explore caregivers' perspectives on what supports and prevents physical activity, and how to use carers' support most effectively., Method: Fourteen caregivers of people diagnosed with psychosis were interviewed. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis, in collaboration with caregivers., Results: Four themes were developed, the first flagging the importance of physical activity, then the others calling for action: (a) Physical inactivity matters: carers are keen to support efforts to increase physical activity in their family or friends because of the enormous impact physical inactivity has on patients, and consequently on carers themselves, such as social isolation and reduction in their own activity. (b) Tell us: without being well-informed about how to help, carers can feel like they are powerless to stop a 'slow suicide' or 'decline' in patients. (c) Listen to us: through knowing their family and friends well, carers are able to identify important changes in patients and identify successful motivators for them, but these insights can feel uninvited. (d) Ask us: being invited to support activity as a partner in a patients' care is desirable but having offers of help rejected can "demotivate the motivator.", Conclusions: Caregivers described strong motivation to help patients to be more physically active but can feel that their support is overlooked and under-used by services. Clinical recommendations for carer involvement in physical activity interventions are offered., Competing Interests: Conflict of interestThe author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: DS is an expert advisor to the NICE centre for guidelines. DF is an NIHR Senior Investigator. Other authors declare no conflicts of interest. The views expressed are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the NHS, the NIHR, NICE or the Department of Health.

Obesity is a chronic and complex disease affecting millions of people worldwide. Currently, there is no standard definition of success for the management of obesity. We set out to complete a synthesis of clinical practice guidelines for obesity management for adult populations, aiming to provide both a quantitative descriptive and qualitative analysis of definitions of success in clinical practice guidelines. An electronic search retrieved 4477 references. Sixteen clinical practice guidelines were included after screening and full-text review. We coded definitions of success 147 times across the included guidelines. No standard or explicit definition of success was identified in the guidelines but rather success was implicitly defined. We developed three themes describing how success was defined in the clinical practice guidelines: Knowledge-based decision making; management of expectations; and the perception of control. The review reinforced that success is an inherently subjective and complex concept. Defining success is limited by existing studies that focus on weight loss and would benefit from additional research on different outcomes. Equally, the relationship between people living with obesity and their clinicians should be further explored to understand how defining success is controlled, discussed and framed in a clinical setting., (© 2024 The Authors. Clinical Obesity published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of World Obesity Federation.)

Childhood cancer is an urgent priority in Egypt, owing to a large number of children with cancer, the great need and demand for paediatric oncology services, limited resources/funds and inferior survival outcomes. Therefore, an overview of the status of childhood cancer care in Egypt and an evidence-based approach towards optimal utilisation of resources/funds to improve this care are needed. This paper summarises key evidence about childhood cancer care and outcomes in Egypt. We conducted a narrative literature review using a structured search strategy of the MEDLINE database through the PubMed interface. All relevant evidence was summarised under five main sub-topics: (1) burden of childhood cancer in Egypt; (2) treatment approaches; (3) health outcomes; (4) costs and cost-effectiveness of treatment; and (5) barriers and facilitators to optimal childhood cancer care. We found high estimates of disease burden of childhood cancer in Egypt. Furthermore, childhood cancer treatment in Egypt is based on either implementing intensity-regulated protocols or adopting international protocols with or without adaptations to local contexts, leading to varying standards of care among the different treating centres. Limited data about the survival outcomes, costs and cost-effectiveness of treatment exist, although high-quality data from retrospective cohort studies were published from a large paediatric oncology centre (Children's Cancer Hospital Egypt-57357). As Egypt joins the WHO Global Initiative for Childhood Cancers as a focus country, it is prepared to move towards streamlining national efforts to implement a national childhood cancer plan to advance care, improve health outcomes and optimise resource use. Through these efforts, Egypt could become a beacon of hope and a role model to other low- and middle-income countries seeking to improve their childhood cancer care., Competing Interests: RS was supported by Egypt Cancer Network (ECN). CH is funded by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) School for Primary Care Research [Project Number 390] and NIHR Oxford Biomedical Research Centre. CH received expenses for his media work and the WHO. NSB was supported by ALSAC. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the funding sources. All remaining authors report that there are no competing conflicts of interest to declare., (© the authors; licensee ecancermedicalscience.)

Background: Patients diagnosed with psychosis often spend less time than others engaged in exercise and more time sitting down, which likely contributes to poorer physical and mental health., Objective: The aim of this study was to develop a comprehensive framework from the perspective of patients, carers, and staff for understanding what promotes movement and physical activity., Methods: A critical realist approach was taken to design the study. Interviews (n=23) and focus groups (n=12) were conducted with (1) outpatients aged 16 years or older diagnosed with psychosis, and under the care of a mental health team, (2) carers and (3) mental health staff working in the community. Purposive sampling was used to maximise variation in participant characteristics. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis., Findings: 19 patients (9 women and 10 men, mean age=45·0 (SD=12·2) years, 15 White British, 2 Black African, 1 Pakistani and 1 other ethnic group), 14 carers (11 women and 3 men, mean age=59·9 (SD=12·7) years, 13 White British and 1 Asian) and 18 staff (14 women and 4 men, mean age=38·7 (SD=12·3) years, 15 White British, 1 White other, 1 Asian Bangladeshi and 1 other Asian) participated in the study. Five factors were found to promote movement and physical activity. Patients must be able to find a purpose to moving which is meaningful to them (Factor 1: Purpose). Patients need to have an expectation of the positive consequences of movement and physical activity, which can be influenced by others' expectations (Factor 2: Predictions). A patient's current physical (eg, pain) and emotional state (eg, distress about voices) needs to be addressed to allow movement and physical activity (Factor 3: Present state). Movement and physical activity can also be encouraged by the availability of effective and tailored support, provided by engaged and supported people (Factor 4: Provision). Finally, through the identification and interruption of vicious cycles (eg, between inactivity and mood states) more positive cycles can be put in place (Factor 5: Process)., Conclusions and Clinical Implications: The 5 P (Purpose, Predictions, Present state, Provision and Process Physical Activity Framework) for understanding movement and physical activity for people diagnosed with psychosis has the potential to inform future research and guide interventions. A checklist is provided for clinicians to help foster change in activity levels., Competing Interests: Competing interests: No competing interests., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2024. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. Published by BMJ.)

Objective: To understand: if professionals, citizens and patients can locate UK healthcare professionals' statements of declarations of interests, and what citizens understand by these., Design: The study sample included two groups of participants in three phases. First, healthcare professionals working in the public domain (health professional participants, HPP) were invited to participate. Their conflicts and declarations of interest were searched for in publicly available data, which the HPP checked and confirmed as the 'gold standard'. In the second phase, laypeople, other healthcare professionals and healthcare students were invited to complete three online tasks. The first task was a questionnaire about their own demographics. The second task was questions about doctors' conflicts of interest in clinical vignette scenarios. The third task was a request for each participant to locate and describe the declarations of interest of one of the named healthcare professionals identified in the first phase, randomly assigned. At the end of this task, all lay participants were asked to indicate willingness to be interviewed at a later date. In the third phase, each lay respondent who was willing to be contacted was invited to a qualitative interview to obtain their views on the conflicts and declaration of interest they found and their meaning., Setting: Online, based in the UK., Participants: 13 public-facing health professionals, 379 participants (healthcare professionals, students and laypeople), 21 lay interviewees., Outcome Measures: (1) Participants' level of trust in professionals with variable conflicts of interest, as expressed in vignettes, (2) participants' ability to locate the declarations of interest of a given well-known healthcare professional and (3) laypeoples' understanding of healthcare professionals declarations and conflicts of interest., Results: In the first phase, 13 health professionals (HPP) participated and agreed on a 'gold standard' of their declarations. In the second phase, 379 citizens, patients, other healthcare professionals and students participated. Not all completed all aspects of the research. 85% of participants thought that knowing about professional declarations was definitely or probably important, but 76.8% were not confident they had found all relevant information after searching. As conflicts of interest increased in the vignettes, participants trusted doctors less. Least trust was associated with doctors who had not disclosed their conflicts of interest. 297 participants agreed to search for the HPP 'gold standard' declaration of interest, and 169 reported some data. Of those reporting any findings, 61 (36%) located a relevant link to some information deemed fit for purpose, and 5 (3%) participants found all the information contained in the 'gold standard'. In the third phase, qualitative interviews with 21 participants highlighted the importance of transparency but raised serious concerns about how useful declarations were in their current format, and whether they could improve patient care. Unintended consequences, such as the burden for patients and professionals to use declarations were identified, with participants additionally expressing concerns about professional bias and a lack of insight over conflicts. Suggestions for improvements included better regulation and organisation, but also second opinions and independent advice where conflicts of interest were suspected., Conclusion: Declarations of interest are important and conflicts of interest concern patients and professionals, particularly in regard to trust in decision-making. If declarations, as currently made, are intended to improve transparency, they do not achieve this, due to difficulties in locating and interpreting them. Unintended consequences may arise if transparency alone is assumed to provide management of conflicts. Increased trust resulting from transparency may be misplaced, given the evidence on the hazards associated with conflicts of interest. Clarity about the purposes of transparency is required. Future policies may be more successful if focused on reducing the potential for negative impacts of conflicts of interest, rather than relying on individuals to locate declarations and interpret them., Trial Registration Number: The protocol was pre-registered at https://osf.io/e7gtq., Competing Interests: Competing interests: MMC has been paid for writing/broadcasting in relation to issues connected with campaigning around conflicts of interest. All authors have completed the Unified Competing Interest form (available on request from the corresponding author) and have no other declarations to make regarding support from any organisation for the submitted work; financial relationships with any organisations that might have an interest in the submitted work in the previous 3 years., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2023. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Purpose: Childhood cancer treatment is complex, resource-intensive, and expensive, and resource-limited settings would benefit from providing cost-effective treatment approaches on the basis of evidence. Effective implementation of cost-effective evidence-based treatment requires knowledge about factors influencing its use. In this study, we determined the clinicians' perceptions of the barriers and facilitators to implementing cost-effective evidence-based treatment for children with cancer in a resource-limited pediatric oncology setting in Egypt., Methods: We conducted a qualitative study on the basis of semistructured interviews with senior clinicians who make high-level decisions on treatment protocols and tailored decisions for the atypically complicated group of patients. Purposive sampling was used to recruit the participants. Thematic analysis was conducted semantically to develop themes of barriers and facilitators., Results: Fourteen participants agreed to participate in the study: nine pediatric oncologists; three surgeons; and two radiation oncologists. We identified four main themes of barriers and facilitators: awareness and orientation; knowledge, skills, and attitudes; system, resources, and context; and clinical practice. The main barriers included absence of easily available costs/cost-effectiveness data, limited resources and inability to pay for expensive novel (cost-effective) drugs, and gap between evidence and practice. The main facilitators included adopting standard treatment protocols on the basis of clinical effectiveness, leadership support, availability of patients' clinical and cost data from local context, and existing knowledge and skills in clinical research and health economic evaluation. The interview participants also provided suggestions to promote the implementation of cost-effective evidence-based treatment in priority areas., Conclusion: Our study findings provide an understanding of the barriers and facilitators affecting the implementation of cost-effective evidence-based treatment for childhood cancers in Egypt. We provide practical recommendations to address the implementation gaps with implications on practice, policy, and research.

Objectives: To identify and thematically analyse how healthcare professionals (HCPs) integrate patient values and preferences ('values integration') in primary care for adults with non-communicable diseases (NCDs)., Design: Systematic review and meta-aggregation methods were used for extraction, synthesis and analysis of qualitative evidence., Data Sources: Relevant records were sourced using keywords to search 12 databases (ASSIA, CINAHL, DARE, EMBASE, ERIC, Google Scholar, GreyLit, Ovid-MEDLINE, PsycINFO, PubMed-MEDLINE, Scopus and Web of Science)., Eligibility Criteria: Records needed to be published between 2000 and 2020 and report qualitative methods and findings in English involving HCP participants regarding primary care for adult patients., Data Extraction and Synthesis: Relevant data including participant quotations, authors' observations, interpretations and conclusions were extracted, synthesised and analysed in a phased approach using a modified version of the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) Data Extraction Tool, as well as EPPI Reviewer and NVivo software. The JBI Critical Appraisal Checklist for Qualitative Research was used to assess methodological quality of included records., Results: Thirty-one records involving >1032 HCP participants and 1823 HCP-patient encounters were reviewed. Findings included 143 approaches to values integration in clinical care, thematically analysed and synthesised into four themes: (1) approaches of concern ; (2) approaches of competence ; (3) approaches of communication and (4) approaches of congruence . Confidence in the quality of included records was deemed high., Conclusions: HCPs incorporate patient values and preferences in healthcare through a variety of approaches including showing concern for the patient as a person, demonstrating competence at managing diseases, communicating with patients as partners and tailoring, adjusting and balancing overall care. Themes in this review provide a novel framework for understanding and addressing values integration in clinical care and provide useful insights for policymakers, educators and practitioners., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42020166002., Competing Interests: Competing interests: CH receives grant funding from the NIHR School of Primary Care Research. He has received financial remuneration from an asbestos case and given legal advice on mesh and hormone pregnancy tests cases. He has received expenses and fees for his media work, for teaching EBM and is also paid for his GP work in NHS out of hours. He has also received income from the publication of a series of toolkit books and for appraising treatment recommendations in non-NHS settings. He is Director of CEBM and former editor-in-chief of BMJ-EBM. No competing interests for other authors., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Background: Opportunistic recruitment in primary care is challenging due to the inherent unpredictability of incident conditions, and workload and time pressures. Many clinical trials do not recruit to target, leading to equivocal answers to research questions. Learning from the experiences of patients and recruiters to trials of incident conditions has the potential to improve recruitment and retention to future trials, thereby enhancing the quality and impact of research findings. The aim of this research was to learn from the trial experiences of UTI patients and recruiters to the Cranberry for UTI (CUTI) trial, to help plan an adequately powered trial of similar design., Methods: One-to-one semi-structured interviews were embedded within the CUTI feasibility trial, an open-label, randomised feasibility trial of cranberry extract for symptoms of acute, uncomplicated Urinary Tract Infection (UTI) in primary care. Interviews were conducted with a sample of: CUTI trial participants; non-CUTI trial UTI patients; and, recruiters to the CUTI trial. Verbatim transcripts were analysed thematically., Results: Twenty-six patients with UTI and eight recruiters (nurses and GPs) to the CUTI trial were interviewed. Three themes were developed around: reasons for participating in research; barriers to opportunistic recruitment; and, UTI patients' experiences of trial procedures. Recruiters found that targeted electronic prompts directed at healthcare practitioners based in clinics where patients with incident conditions were likely to present (e.g. minor illness clinic) were more effective than generic prompts (e.g. desk prompts) at filtering patients from their usual clinical pathway to research clinics. Using a script to explain the delayed antibiotic trial group to patients was found to be helpful, and may have served to boost recruitment. For UTI patients, using an electronic diary to rate their symptoms was considered an acceptable medium, and often preferable to using a paper diary or mobile phone application., Conclusions: The use of targeted prompts directed at clinicians, a script to explain trial groups that may be deemed less desirable, and an appropriate diary format for patient-reported outcomes, may help to improve trial recruitment and retention., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: Cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common childhood physical disability in developed countries. Parents of children with CP experience difficulties that can result in reduced well-being. Health professionals supporting children with CP have been encouraged to focus on parental well-being as this forms part of the child's essential environment. There is a lack of evidence about interventions that holistically support the whole family by providing therapeutic input for the child and support for parents. This study aimed to explore parents' experiences of play-based groups for children with CP and their parents, with a focus on the groups' impact on parents' well-being., Methods: Parents of children with CP who had attended play-based groups in the year prior were recruited for this qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Participants' demographic characteristics were collected as contextual information. Data were analysed using an inductive thematic approach., Results: Ten mothers were interviewed. Overall, mothers had positive experiences of the groups and perceived them as an important influence on their well-being. Four themes described mothers' experiences of the groups and the subsequent impact on their well-being: (1) practical support, (2) connecting with others, (3) transitioning journeys and (4) different motivators, different experiences. Numerous factors influenced mothers' experiences of attending the groups and the subsequent impact on their well-being. This included mothers' individual experiences of having a child with CP., Conclusions: Interventions combining practical and social support for the whole family can have a positive impact on the well-being of mothers of children with CP. Care should be taken to provide individualised support for each family. There is no 'one-size-fits-all' approach, and a package of care can provide multiple services that meet the varying needs of mothers and their children with CP., (© 2022 The Authors. Child: Care, Health and Development published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Antidiabetic medication is effective in preventing diabetes-related complications. However, 40% of type 2 diabetic patients do not adhere to their medication regimes adequately. Brief text messages represent a promising approach to support medication adherence. The aim of this study was to explore the perspectives of primary care professionals (PCPs) concerning the DiabeText intervention, a new text messaging intervention to be developed to support medication adherence in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) in Mallorca, Spain., Methods: We conducted four focus groups ( n = 28) and eight semi-structured interviews with doctors and nurses. Data collection and analysis were carried out by researchers independently following Braun and Clark's methodology., Results: Three main themes were identified: (1) text messaging interventions have the potential to effectively support diabetes self-management; (2) involving PCPs in the intervention would facilitate its design and implementation; (3) obtaining evidence supporting the cost-effectiveness is a key prerequisite for large-scale implementation of the intervention. PCPs identified barriers and enablers of the design and implementation of the intervention and made suggestions about the content and format of the text messages., Conclusion: The DiabeText intervention is perceived as useful and acceptable by PCPs provided its cost-effectiveness.

Background: The views of women with acute, uncomplicated urinary tract infection (auUTI) on the acceptability of non-antibiotic treatment options are poorly understood., Aim: To establish women's thoughts on and experience of non-antibiotic treatment for auUTIs., Design and Setting: Qualitative interview study with primary care patients in Oxfordshire, UK, embedded within the Cranberry for Urinary Tract Infection (CUTI) feasibility trial., Method: One-to-one, semi-structured interviews were conducted between August 2019 and January 2020 with some CUTI trial participants and some patients who were not part of the CUTI trial who had experienced at least one urinary tract infection (UTI) in the preceding 12 months in Oxfordshire, UK. Interviews were analysed using thematic analysis., Results: In total, 26 interviews were conducted and analysed. Women expected to receive an immediate antibiotic for their UTI but were aware of the potential harms of this approach. They were keen to find a non-antibiotic, 'natural' alternative that could effectively manage their symptoms. In certain situations (early illness, milder illness, and with no important upcoming engagements), women indicated they would be prepared to postpone antibiotic treatment by up to 3 days, especially if offered an interim non-antibiotic option with perceived therapeutic potential., Conclusion: Many women with auUTIs are open to trying non-antibiotic treatments first in certain situations. There is scope for more dialogue between primary care clinicians and patients with auUTI around delaying antibiotic treatment and using non-antibiotic options initially, which could reduce antibiotic consumption for this common infection., (© The Authors.)

Background: Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM) is a long-term condition affecting around 10% of people worldwide. This study aimed to explore T2DM patients' views on DiabeText, a new text messaging intervention to be developed to support adherence to diabetes medication., Methods: A total of four focus groups were conducted with a purposive sample of people with T2DM (n = 34). The data were analysed by multiple researchers independently, and coded using thematic analysis., Results: There were two main themes that emerged: (1) "patients' perspectives on unmet needs for diabetes self-management", and (2) "acceptability and perceived utility of DiabeText". The patients identified a number of barriers for diabetes self-management, including lack of appropriate information and support with diet and physical activity. Support for medication-taking was not perceived as urgently needed, although several barriers were identified (eating outside, traveling, polymedication, dispensation at the pharmacy). The participants anticipated that the proposed intervention would present high levels of patient acceptability and perceived utility as long as its content addresses the barriers that were identified, and includes specific features (short and clear messages, and personalized information)., Conclusion: The proposed intervention has the potential to be well accepted and perceived as useful by T2DM patients who require support not only in terms of medication-taking, but more prominently of lifestyle behaviour.

Online review and rating sites, where patients can leave feedback on their experience of the health-care encounter, are becoming an increasing feature of primary care in the NHS. Previous research has analysed how digital surveillance is re-shaping the clinical gaze, as health-care professionals are subject to increased public monitoring. Here, we draw on an empirical study of 41 GP practice staff to show how the gaze is turning, not simply from the patient to the health-care provider, but additionally to the body politic of the NHS. Drawing on focus group and interview data conducted in five UK practices, we show how discourses of online reviews and ratings are producing new professional subjectivities among health-care professionals and the extent to which the gaze extends not only to individual health-care interactions but to the health-care service writ large. We identify three counter-discourses characterising the evolving ways in which online reviews and ratings are creating new subjects in primary care practices: victimhood, prosumption versus traditional values and taking control. We show how the ways in which staff speak about online feedback are patterned by the social environment in which they work and the constraints of the NHS they encounter on a day-to-day basis., (© 2021 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL (SHIL).)

Qualitative longitudinal design has a long tradition in a variety of social science disciplines and is increasingly used in applied healthcare research, including family medicine. While there are many definitions of longitudinal qualitative research (LQR), its most common characteristics are multiple data collection points and its focus on temporality, which prioritise the study of change and continuity. Thus, LQR can provide insights into the nature, causes and consequences of change (or its absence). In this paper, we discuss the key steps and considerations related to designing and conducting LQR in family medicine and community health. These include (1) deciding on the length of data collection and timing and number of interviews, (2) planning recruitment: attrition versus oversampling, (3) approaching data collection: asking the same or different questions, (4) planning and conducting the analysis and writing up findings, and (5) conducting ethical LQR. We also highlight what LQR can offer family medicine and community health, including (1) allowing exploration of views and experiences of a variety of participants over time; (2) following participants through important transitions; (3) studying implementation of new practices, processes or interventions; (4) exploring the importance of historical change and/or macro context on individuals' lives; and (5) developing a deeper understanding of phenomena under study. While a lot of attention has been paid to using LQR when studying patients' and/or carers' experiences, we highlight its value when studying a variety of actors relevant to family medicine, including healthcare professionals and policy makers., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY-NC. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Advance care planning (ACP) can improve the quality of life of patients suffering from heart failure (HF). However, primary care healthcare professionals (HCPs) find ACP difficult to engage with and patient care remains suboptimal., Aim: To explore the views of primary care HCPs on how to improve their engagement with ACP in HF., Design and Setting: A qualitative interview study with GPs and primary care nurses in England., Method: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of 24 primary care HCPs. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis., Results: Three main themes were constructed from the data: ACP as integral to holistic care in HF; potentially limiting factors to the doctor-patient relationship; and approaches to improve professional performance. Many HCPs saw the benefits of ACP as synonymous with providing holistic care and improving patients' quality of life. However, some feared that initiating ACP could irrevocably damage their doctor-patient relationship. Their own fear of death and dying, a lack of disease-specific communication skills, and uncertainty about the right timing were significant barriers to ACP. To optimise their engagement with ACP in HF, HCPs recommended better clinician-patient dialogue through question prompts, enhanced shared decision-making approaches, synchronising ACP across medical specialties, and disease-specific training., Conclusion: GPs and primary care nurses are vital to deliver ACP for patients suffering from HF. HCPs highlighted important areas to improve their practice and the urgent need for investigations into better clinician-patient engagement with ACP., (© The Authors.)

Background: Grandiose delusions are arguably the most neglected psychotic experience in research., Objectives: We aimed to discover from patients: whether grandiose delusions have harmful consequences; the psychological mechanisms that maintain them; and what help patients may want from clinical services., Design: A qualitative interview design was used to explore patients' experiences of grandiose delusions., Method: Fifteen patients with past or present experiences of grandiose delusions who were attending psychiatric services were interviewed. Thematic analysis and grounded theory were used to analyse the data., Results: Participants reported physical, sexual, social, occupational, and emotional harms from grandiose delusions. All patients described the grandiose belief as highly meaningful: it provided a sense of purpose, belonging, or self-identity, or it made sense of unusual or difficult events. The meaning from the belief was not synonymous with extreme superiority or arrogance. The meaning obtained appeared to be a key driver of the persistence of the beliefs. Other maintenance factors were subjectively anomalous experiences (e.g., voices), symptoms of mania, fantasy elaboration, reasoning biases, and immersive behaviours. Participants described insufficient opportunities to talk about their grandiose beliefs and related experiences and were generally positive about the possibility of a psychological therapy., Conclusions: We conclude that grandiosity is a psychologically rich experience, with a number of maintenance factors that may be amenable to a targeted psychological intervention. Importantly, the term 'grandiose delusion' is an imprecise description of the experience; we suggest 'delusions of exceptionality' may be a credible alternative., Practitioner Points: Harm from grandiose delusions can occur across multiple domains (including physical, sexual, social, occupational, and emotional) and practitioners should assess accordingly. However, grandiose delusions are experienced by patients as highly meaningful: they provide a sense of purpose, belonging, or self-identity, or make sense of unusual or difficult events. Possible psychological maintenance mechanisms that could be a target for intervention include the meaning of the belief, anomalous experiences, mania, fantasy elaboration, reasoning biases, and immersive behaviours. Patients are keen to have the opportunity to access talking therapies for this experience. Taking extra time to talk at times of distress, 'going the extra mile', and listening carefully can help to facilitate trust., (© 2019 The Authors. Psychology and Psychotherapy: Theory, Research and Practice published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of British Psychological Society.)

The involvement of non-researcher contributors (eg, stakeholders, patients and the public, decision and policy makers, experts, lay contributors) has taken a variety of forms within evidence syntheses. Realist reviews are a form of evidence synthesis that involves non-researcher contributors yet this practice has received little attention. In particular, the role of patient and public involvement (PPI) has not been clearly documented. This review of reviews describes the ways in which contributor involvement, including PPI, is documented within healthcare realist reviews published over the last five years. A total of 448 papers published between 2014 and 2019 were screened, yielding 71 full-text papers included in this review. Statements about contributor involvement were synthesized across each review using framework analysis. Three themes are described in this article including nomenclature, nature of involvement, and reporting impact. Papers indicate that contributor involvement in realist reviews refers to stakeholders, experts, or advisory groups (ie, professionals, clinicians, or academics). Patients and the public are occasionally subsumed into these groups and in doing so, the nature and impact of their involvement become challenging to identify and at times, is lost completely. Our review findings indicate a need for the realist review community to develop guidance to support researchers in their future collaboration with contributors, including patients and the public., (© 2020 The Authors. Research Synthesis Methods published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Objectives: To determine the feasibility of conducting a randomised trial of the effectiveness of cranberry extract in reducing antibiotic use by women with symptoms of acute, uncomplicated urinary tract infection (UTI)., Design: Open-label feasibility randomised parallel group trial., Setting: Four general practices in Oxfordshire., Participants: Women aged 18 years and above presenting to general practice with symptoms of acute, uncomplicated UTI., Interventions: Women were randomly assigned using Research Electronic Data Capture in a 1:1:1 ratio to: (1) immediate antibiotics alone (n=15); (2) immediate antibiotics and immediate cranberry capsules for up to 7 days (n=15); or (3) immediate cranberry capsules and delayed antibiotics for self-initiation in case of non-improvement or worsening of symptoms (n=16)., Primary and Secondary Outcome Measures: The primary outcome measures were: rate of recruitment of participants; numbers lost to follow-up; proportion of electronic diaries completed by participants; and acceptability of the intervention and study procedures to participants and recruiters. Secondary outcomes included an exploration of differences in symptom burden and antibiotic use between groups., Results: Four general practitioner practices (100%) were opened and recruited participants between 1 July and 2 December 2019, with nine study participants recruited per month on average. 68.7% (46/67) of eligible participants were randomised (target 45) with a mean age of 48.4 years (SD 19.9, range 18-81). 89.1% (41/46) of diaries contained some participant entered data and 69.6% (32/46) were fully complete. Three participants (6.5%) were lost to follow-up and two (4.4%) withdrew. Of women randomly assigned to take antibiotics alone (controls), one-third of respondents reported consuming cranberry products (33.3%, 4/12). There were no serious adverse events., Conclusions: It appears feasible to conduct a randomised trial of the use of cranberry extract in the treatment of acute, uncomplicated UTI in general practice., Trial Registration Number: ISRCTN Registry (ID: 10399299)., Competing Interests: Competing interests: OG receives funding from the National Institute of Health Research (NIHR) SPCR and the Wellcome Trust. CCB is a senior investigator of the NIHR; clinical director of the University of Oxford Primary Care and Vaccines Collaborative Clinical Trials Unit; clinical director of the NIHR Oxford Community Medtech and Invitro diagnostics Cooperative; and salaried general practitioner for the Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board. He has received funding from many public funding bodies for primary care research related to the management of common infections. He received payment for contributing to Advisory Boards for Pfizer in 2019, Roche Diagnostics in 2020, and for contributing to an Advisory Board for Janssen Pharmaceuticals about respiratory syncytial virus treatment and vaccination from Janssen Pharmaceuticals in 2020, and holds an unrestricted grant from Janssen Pharmaceuticals for contributing to research on respiratory syncytial virus. CH reports he has received expenses and fees for his media work. He is director of the CEBM at the University of Oxford, and editor-in-chief of BMJ Evidence-Based Medicine and an NIHR senior investigator. JA, NW, MM, ADH and A-MB have no conflicts of interest to declare., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2021. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Patient and public involvement (PPI) can help with steering and shaping research prioritisation and execution. However, some groups of people may not be encouraged to take part and their voices may be seldom listened to in the production of research. This is important to consider because they may have poorer healthcare experiences. We tried using art as a vehicle for including individuals not necessarily invited to be part of research priority setting., Methods: We contacted existing groups and organisations to reach people not routinely supported to be part of PPI. We targeted individuals: a) with dementia, b) with a mental and physical health condition, c) of South Asian heritage. We ran a workshop with each group at which individuals shared their experiences of healthcare. A young amateur artist also attended, who produced a piece of artwork afterwards that reflected the research priorities raised. We held a Twitter chat to discuss these pieces of art and the processes involved in their generation., Results: From each workshop, we produced a list of research priorities. These included: a) improving coordination of care for people with dementia, b) information needs and anxiety/guilt around accessing care for people with physical and mental health conditions, c) supporting discussion of women's health issues in South Asian communities. These priorities were reflected in three pieces of art, which can be viewed online. Feedback from those at workshops suggested that the artwork helped them to feel that their voice had been heard and triggered their interest in how research is developed. Those involved in the Twitter chat commented that art was one means through which researchers could connect with a range of groups in a PPI context when preparing and producing a study., Conclusions: We found the medium of art to be an effective way of including a range of people in research prioritisation setting. This approach could be useful for future PPI, building on what we have learnt from the project described in this paper.

Background: Increasingly, consultations in health care settings are conducted remotely using a range of communication technologies. Email allows for 2-way text-based communication, occurring asynchronously. Studies have explored the content and nature of email consultations to understand the use, structure, and function of email consultations. Most previous content analyses of email consultations in primary care settings have been conducted in North America, and these have shown that concerns and assumptions about how email consultations work have not been realized. There has not been a UK-based content analysis of email consultations., Objective: This study aims to explore and delineate the content of consultations conducted via email in English general practice by conducting a content analysis of email consultations between general practitioners (GPs) and patients., Methods: We conducted a content analysis of anonymized email consultations between GPs and patients in 2 general practices in the United Kingdom. We examined the descriptive elements of the correspondence to ascertain when the emails were sent, the number of emails in an email consultation, and the nature of the content. We used a normative approach to analyze the content of the email consultations to explore the use and function of email consultation., Results: We obtained 100 email consultations from 85 patients, which totaled 262 individual emails. Most email users were older than 40 years, and over half of the users were male. The email consultations were mostly short and completed in a few days. Emails were mostly sent and received during the day. The emails were mostly clinical in content rather than administrative and covered a wide range of clinical presentations. There were 3 key themes to the use and function of the email consultations: the role of the GP and email consultation, the transactional nature of an email consultation, and the operationalization of an email consultation., Conclusions: Most cases where emails are used to have a consultation with a patient in general practice have a shorter consultation, are clinical in nature, and are resolved quickly. GPs approach email consultations using key elements similar to that of the face-to-face consultation; however, using email consultations has the potential to alter the role of the GP, leading them to engage in more administrative tasks than usual. Email consultations were not a replacement for face-to-face consultations., (©Helen Atherton, Anne-Marie Boylan, Abi Eccles, Joanna Fleming, Clare R Goyder, Rebecca L Morris. Originally published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research (http://www.jmir.org), 09.11.2020.)

Background: UK general practice is being shaped by new ways of working. Traditional GP tasks are being delegated to other staff with the intention of reducing GPs' workload and hospital admissions, and improving patients' access to care. One such task is patient-requested home visits. However, it is unclear what impact delegated home visits may have, who might benefit, and under what circumstances., Aim: To explore how the process of delegating home visits works, for whom, and in what contexts., Design and Setting: A review of secondary data on home visit delegation processes in UK primary care settings., Method: A realist approach was taken to reviewing data, which aims to provide causal explanations through the generation and articulation of contexts, mechanisms, and outcomes. A range of data has been used including news items, grey literature, and academic articles., Results: Data were synthesised from 70 documents. GPs may believe that delegating home visits is a risky option unless they have trust and experience with the wider multidisciplinary team. Internal systems such as technological infrastructure might help or hinder the delegation process. Healthcare professionals carrying out delegated home visits might benefit from being integrated into general practice but may feel that their clinical autonomy is limited by the delegation process. Patients report short-term satisfaction when visited by a healthcare professional other than a GP. The impact this has on long-term health outcomes and cost is less clear., Conclusion: The delegation of home visits may require a shift in patient expectation about who undertakes care. Professional expectations may also require a shift, having implications for the balance of staffing between primary and secondary care, and the training of healthcare professionals., (© British Journal of General Practice 2020.)

Background: Social prescribing is a way of addressing the 'non-medical' needs (e.g. loneliness, debt, housing problems) that can affect people's health and well-being. Connector schemes (e.g. delivered by care navigators or link workers) have become a key component to social prescribing's delivery. Those in this role support patients by either (a) signposting them to relevant local assets (e.g. groups, organisations, charities, activities, events) or (b) taking time to assist them in identifying and prioritising their 'non-medical' needs and connecting them to relevant local assets. To understand how such connector schemes work, for whom, why and in what circumstances, we conducted a realist review., Method: A search of electronic databases was supplemented with Google alerts and reference checking to locate grey literature. In addition, we sent a Freedom of Information request to all Clinical Commissioning Groups in England to identify any further evaluations of social prescribing connector schemes. Included studies were from the UK and focused on connector schemes for adult patients (18+ years) related to primary care., Results: Our searches resulted in 118 included documents, from which data were extracted to produce context-mechanism-outcome configurations (CMOCs). These CMOCs underpinned our emerging programme theory that centred on the essential role of 'buy-in' and connections. This was refined further by turning to existing theories on (a) social capital and (b) patient activation., Conclusion: Our realist review highlights how connector roles, especially link workers, represent a vehicle for accruing social capital (e.g. trust, sense of belonging, practical support). We propose that this then gives patients the confidence, motivation, connections, knowledge and skills to manage their own well-being, thereby reducing their reliance on GPs. We also emphasise within the programme theory situations that could result in unintended consequences (e.g. increased demand on GPs).

Objectives: To ascertain the relationship between online patient feedback and the General Practice Patient Survey (GPPS) and the Friends and Family Test (FFT). To consider the potential benefit it may add by describing the content of public reviews found on NHS Choices for all general practices in one Clinical Commissioning Group in England., Design: Multimethod study using correlation and thematic analysis., Setting: 1396 public online reviews and ratings on NHS Choices for all General Practices (n=70) in Oxfordshire Clinical Commissioning Group in England., Results: Significant moderate correlations were found between the online patient feedback and the GPPS and the FFT. Three themes were developed through the qualitative analysis: (1) online feedback largely provides positive reinforcement for practice staff; (2) online feedback is used as a platform for suggesting service organisation and delivery improvements; (3) online feedback can be a source of insight into patients' expectations of care. These themes illustrate the wide range of topics commented on by patients, including their medical care, relationships with various members of staff, practice facilities, amenities and services in primary care settings., Conclusions: This multimethod study demonstrates that online feedback found on NHS Choices is significantly correlated with established measures of quality in primary care. This suggests it has a potential use in understanding patient experience and satisfaction, and a potential use in quality improvement and patient safety. The qualitative analysis shows that this form of feedback contains helpful information about patients' experiences of general practice that provide insight into issues of quality and patient safety relevant to primary care. Health providers should offer patients multiple ways of offering feedback, including online, and should have systems in place to respond to and act on this feedback., Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2020. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Background: Consultations in primary care for symptoms of urinary tract infections (UTIs) are common and patients are frequently treated with antibiotics. Given increasing antimicrobial resistance, there has been interest in non-antibiotic treatment options for common infections. One such option is the use of cranberry extract to treat symptoms attributable to UTIs., Methods: A target of 45 women consulting in primary care, with symptoms suggestive of an uncomplicated UTI for whom the practitioner would normally prescribe antibiotics, will be randomised to receive one of three treatment approaches: (1) immediate prescription for antibiotics; (2) immediate prescription for antibiotics plus a 7-day course of cranberry capsules and (3) cranberry capsules plus a delayed prescription for antibiotics to be used in case their symptoms do not get better, or get worse. Follow-up will be by daily rating of symptoms and recording of treatments used for 2 weeks in an online symptom diary. Interviews will be conducted with around 10-15 study participants, as well as with around 10-15 women who have experienced a UTI but have not been approached to take part in the study. Both groups will be asked about their experience of having a UTI, their thoughts on non-antibiotic treatments for UTIs and their thoughts on, or experience of, the feasibility trial. The primary objective is to assess the feasibility of undertaking a full trial in primary care of the effectiveness of cranberry extract to reduce antibiotic use for symptoms of acute uncomplicated UTI. The secondary objective is to conduct a preliminary assessment of the extent to which cranberry might reduce antibiotic use and symptom burden., Discussion: This feasibility study with embedded interviews will inform the planning and sample size calculation of an adequately powered trial to definitively determine whether cranberry helps to alleviate the symptoms of acute uncomplicated UTIs in women and whether it can safely reduce antibiotic use., Trial Registration: ISRCTN registry, ID: 10399299. Registered on 24 January 2019.

Competing Interests: Competing interests: None declared.

Background: Funders, policy-makers and research organizations increasingly expect health researchers in the UK to involve patients and members of the public in research. It has been stated that it makes research "more effective, more credible and often more cost efficient." However, the evidence base for this assertion is evolving and can be limited. There has been little research into how health researchers feel about involving people, how they go about it, how they manage formal policy rhetoric, and what happens in practice., Objective: To explore researchers' experiences and perceptions of patient and public involvement (PPI)., Methods: Semi-structured interview study of 36 health researchers (both clinical and non-clinical), with data collection and thematic analysis informed by the theoretical domains framework., Results: In the course of our analysis, we developed four themes that encapsulate the participants' experiences and perceptions of PPI. Participants expressed ambivalence, cynicism and enthusiasm about PPI, an activity that creates emotional labour, which is both rewarding and burdensome and requires practical and social support. It is operationalized in an academic context influenced by power and incentives., Discussion and Conclusions: Researchers' experiences and attitudes towards patient and public involvement are a key factor in the successful embedding of involvement within the wider research culture. We call for a culture change that supports the development of effective organizational approach to support involvement., (© 2019 The Authors Health Expectations published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The aim of this paper is to examine the meaning of the concept of donation in health research. Drawing on a set of narrative interviews with people invited to donate biosamples for research and a range of other studies, we identify several conceptual themes that speak to the complexity of the current landscape of critical thinking about donation. These conceptual themes are: the language of 'donation'; a hierarchy of biosamples; alternative informational value; narratives as donation; coincidental donation, convenience and degree of invasiveness; and rights, consent and benefits of research participation. We call for a reconceptualisation of research donation to encompass not only the numerous types of sample readily classed as donations, but also other types of data and contributions, including narrative interviews, psychometric data, patient-reported outcome measures, record-linkage, and time and effort. We argue for the development of a pluralist sociology of research donations, and suggest that a 'sociology of research contributions' might better capture this complexity., (© 2018 The Authors. Sociology of Health & Illness published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Foundation for SHIL.)

The experience and role of self-monitoring in self-directed weight loss attempts may be distinctly different from that within formal interventions, and has yet to be fully explored. We systematically reviewed qualitative studies to examine experiences of self-monitoring as an aid to self-directed weight loss. Thematic synthesis was used to construct descriptive and analytical themes from the available data. In all, 22 studies (681 participants) were included, in which the uses of self-monitoring ranged from an aid to increase adherence to a tool for facilitating analysis. Self-monitoring also influenced and was influenced by self-perception and emotions. Feelings of shame were linked with abandonment of efforts. Findings highlight the centrality of interpretation of self-monitored data, the implications this interpretation has on sense of self, and the impact of broader discourses. Explicitly framing self-monitoring as a positive tool with which to aid analysis may encourage helpful use of this technique.

Introduction: In western countries, early visiting services (EVS) have been proposed as a recent intervention to reduce both general practitioner workload and hospital admissions among housebound individuals experiencing a healthcare need within the community. EVS involves the delegation of the patient home visits to other staff groups such as paramedics or nursing staff. However, the principles of organising this care are unknown and it remains unclear how different contexts, such as patient conditions and the processes of organising EVS influence care outcomes. A review has been designed to understand how EVS are enacted and, specifically, who benefits, why, how and when in order to provide further insight into the design and delivery of EVS., Methods and Analysis: The purpose of this review is to produce findings that provide explanations of how and why EVS contexts influence their associated outcomes. Evidence on EVS will be consolidated through realist review-a theory-driven approach to evidence synthesis. A realist approach is needed as EVS is a complex intervention. What EVS achieve is likely to vary for different individuals and contexts. We expect to synthesise a range of relevant data such as qualitative, quantitative and mixed-method research in the following stages: devising an initial programme theory, searching evidence, selecting appropriate documents, extracting data, synthesising and refining the programme theory., Ethics and Dissemination: A formal ethics review is not required as this study is secondary research. Findings will be disseminated in a peer-reviewed journal, at national and international conferences and to relevant professional associations., Prospero Registration Number: CRD42018096518., Competing Interests: Competing interests: KRM is Chair, and GW is a Deputy Chair of the United Kingdom’s National Institute of Health Research Health Technology Assessment Primary Care Panel., (© Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2018. Re-use permitted under CC BY. Published by BMJ.)

Background: Reframing means changing the way that a person thinks or feels about a weight loss attempt or weight loss maintenance to enhance its experience or facilitate its success. Although participants have described this, it has not been explored in the academic literature. Here, we set out to systematically review qualitative studies to examine the ways in which people use and experience reframing in self-directed weight loss., Methods: Seven electronic databases were searched to January 2017 for qualitative studies of adults with overweight or obesity attempting to lose weight or maintain weight loss through self-directed behavior change. Studies must have contained some information pertinent to reframing. Thematic synthesis was used to identify descriptive and analytical themes from the available data., Results: We included 23 studies, representing 723 participants. No study focused specifically on reframing. Most studies involved people who had tried to lose weight previously. In the most common examples of reframing, participants spoke of construing previous weight management attempts as "dieting", whereas in current attempts they used reframing to move away from this concept. Participants spoke of finding reframing helpful because it removed the sense of depriving themselves and instead allowed them to construe the food choices as healthful. Likewise, the language of dieting created a sense of temporary effort, while construing this as a way of life allowed continuation of conscious control over energy balance without the feeling of undue effort. In some cases, these changes were bolstered by change in self-identity., Conclusions: Some people construe deliberate weight loss as a form of deprivation and cognitively reframe to avoid the negative emotions this creates and to prevent relapse. Reframing the dietary regimen as about healthy eating and a new way of life made weight control seem less burdensome for these participants and they felt able to maintain their efforts., (© 2018 The Authors. Applied Psychology: Health and Well-Being published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of International Association of Applied Psychology.)

Background: Policy-makers and health research funders increasingly require researchers to demonstrate that they have involved patients in the design and conduct of research. However, the extent to which patients and public have the power to get involved on an equal footing is dependent on their economic, cultural, social and symbolic capital., Objective: To explore power relations in patient and public involvement (PPI) in research, particularly how patients may wield symbolic capital to develop a more equal relationship., Methods: Narrative interviews with a maximum variation sample of 38 people involved as patients, carers or public in health research, analysed thematically., Findings: Symbolic capital may be demonstrated in a range of ways (sometimes alongside or in the absence of other forms of capital): illness experience, technical illness knowledge and the challenging outsider. Symbolic capital is unstable and dependent on others for recognition and legitimacy. Nonetheless, participants identify a gradual shift in power relations over time., Discussion and Conclusions: Research into PPI has been conceptually and theoretically poor, limiting our understanding of its mechanisms and wider contextual elements. Our findings demonstrate the importance of reflecting on the forms of power and capital wielded by the health research community, and of acknowledging the way in which PPI is challenging the status quo. As one of the first papers to conceptualize how different forms of symbolic capital operate and their critical role in challenging the balance of power, our findings may help researchers better plan their PPI activities and reflect on their own power., (© 2016 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: There are mounting calls for robust, critical evaluation of the impact of patient and public involvement (PPI) in health research. However, questions remain about how to assess its impact, and whether it should be assessed at all. The debate has thus far been dominated by professionals., Objective: To explore the views of PPI contributors involved in health research regarding the impact of PPI on research, whether and how it should be assessed., Design: Qualitative interview study., Setting and Participants: Thirty-eight PPI contributors involved in health research across the UK., Results: Participants felt that PPI has a beneficial impact on health research. They described various impactful roles, which we conceptualize as the 'expert in lived experience', the 'creative outsider', the 'free challenger', the 'bridger', the 'motivator' and the 'passive presence'. Participants generally supported assessing the impact of PPI, while acknowledging the challenges and concerns about the appropriateness and feasibility of measurement. They expressed a range of views about what impacts should be assessed, by whom and how. Individual feedback on impact was seen as an important driver of improved impact and motivation to stay involved., Conclusions: While there appears to be widespread support for PPI impact assessment among PPI contributors, their views on what to assess and how are diverse. PPI contributors should be involved as equal partners in debates and decisions about these issues. Individual feedback on impact may increase PPI contributors' potential impact and their motivation to stay involved., (© 2016 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Competing Interests: The author(s) declared the following potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: JP is employed part-time as a Consultant Clinical Adviser in the Centre for Health Technology Evaluation, National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.

Background: In the UK, altruism has featured explicitly as an underpinning principle for biobanking. However, conceptualizing donation as altruistic downplays the role of reciprocity and personal or family benefit., Objective: To investigate how biosample donors talk about their donation and whether they regard samples as 'gifts'., Methods: In this qualitative study, 21 people, both healthy volunteers and people with health conditions, who had been invited to give biosamples took part in semi-structured narrative interviews. The data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed., Results: The term 'gift' was considered appropriate by some, but it also evoked puzzlement, especially in relation to 'waste' material (e.g. urine or tumour samples). Whilst 'giving' or 'donating' were commonly mentioned, the noun 'gift' signified something more special and deliberate. Analysis suggested biosamples could be interpreted as gifts in several different ways, including unreserved gift; reciprocal gift; collective gift; unwanted/low-value gift; and gift as an exaggeration., Discussion and Conclusions: Although people describe a network of exchange consistent with anthropological understandings of gift relationships, lay (and biomedical) understandings of the term 'gift' may differ from anthropological definitions. For donors (and researchers), value is attached to the information derived from the sample, rather than the sample itself. Consequently, when asking people for biosamples, we should avoid using the term 'gift'. Acknowledging the value of participation and the information the sample holds may mean more to potential donors., (© 2015 The Authors. Health Expectations Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Background: Clinical practice guidelines recommend that stroke survivors' needs be assessed at regular intervals after stroke. The extent to which GPs comply with national guidance particularly for patients in care homes who have greatest clinical complexity is unknown., Objectives: This study aimed to establish the current clinical practice in the UK of needs assessment by GPs for stroke survivors after hospital discharge for acute stroke., Methods: Cross-sectional online survey of current practice of GPs, using the national doctors.net network., Results: The survey was completed by 300 GPs who had on average been working for 14 years. The structured assessment of stroke survivors' needs was not offered by 31% of GPs, with no significant difference for level of provision in community or care home settings. The outputs of reviews were added to patients' notes by 89% of GPs and used to change management by 57%. Only half the GPs reported integrating the information obtained into care plans and only a quarter of GPs had a protocol for follow-up of identified needs. Analysis of free-text comments indicated that patients in some care homes may receive more regular and structured reviews., Conclusions: This survey suggests that at least one-third of GPs provide no formal review of the needs of stroke patients and that in only a minority are identified needs addressed in a structured way. Standardization is required for what is included in reviews and how needs are being identified and met., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)