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Background: Rising healthcare costs, an increasing general practitioner shortage and an aging population have made healthcare organization transformation a priority. To meet these challenges, traditional roles of non-medical members have been reconsidered. Within the domain of physiotherapy, there has been significant interest in Extended Scope Physiotherapy (ESP). Although studies have focused on the perceptions of different stakeholders in relation to ESP, there is a large variety in the interpretation of ESP.Aim: To identify a paradigm of ESP incorporating goals, roles and tasks, to provide a consistent approach for the implementation of ESP in primary care.Methods: An exploratory, qualitative multi-step design was used containing a scoping review, focus groups and semi-structured interviews. The study population consisted of patients, physiotherapists, general practitioners and indirect stakeholders such as lecturers, health insurers and policymakers related to primary care physiotherapy. The main topics discussed in the focus groups and semi-structured interviews were the goals, skills and roles affiliated with ESP. The 'framework' method, developed by Ritchie & Spencer, was used as analytical approach to refine the framework.Results: Two focus groups and twelve semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore stakeholder perspectives on ESP in Dutch primary care. A total of 11 physiotherapists, six general practitioners, five patients and four indirect stakeholders participated in the study. There was a lot of support for 'decreasing healthcare costs', 'tackling increased health demand' and 'improving healthcare effectiveness' as main goals of ESP. The most agreement was reached on 'triaging', 'referring to specialists' and 'ordering diagnostic imaging' as tasks fitting for ESP. Most stakeholders also supported 'working in a multidisciplinary team', 'working as a consultant' and 'an ESP role separated from a physiotherapist role' as roles of ESP.Conclusions: Based on the scoping review, focus groups and interviews with direct and indirect stakeholders, it appears that there is sufficient support for ESP in the Netherlands. This study provides a clear presentation of how ESP can be conceptualized in primary care. A pilot focused on determining the feasibility of ESP in Dutch primary care will be the next step. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: All countries face challenging decisions about healthcare coverage. Malawi has committed to achieving Universal Health Coverage (UHC) by 2030, the timeframe set out by the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). As in other low income countries, scarce resources stand in the way of more equitable health access and quality in Malawi. Its health sector is highly dependent on donor contributions, and recent poor governance of government-funded healthcare saw donors withdraw funding, limiting services and resources. The 2017 National Health Plan II and accompanying Health Strategic Plan II identify the importance of improved governance and strategies to achieve more effective cooperation with stakeholders. This study explores health sector stakeholders' perceptions of the challenges to improving governance in Malawi's national health system within the post-2017 context of government attempts to articulate a way forward.Methods: A qualitative study design was used. Interviews were conducted with 22 representatives of major international and faith-based non-government organisations, civil society organisations, local government and government-funded organisations, and governance bodies operating in Malawi. Open questions were asked about experiences and perceptions of the functioning of the health system and healthcare decision-making. Content relating to healthcare governance was identified in the transcripts and field notes and analysed using inductive content analysis.Results: Stakeholders view governance challenges as a significant barrier to achieving a more effective and equitable health system. Three categories were identified: accountability (enforceability; answerability; stakeholder-led initiatives); health resource management (healthcare financing; drug supply); influence in decision-making (unequal power; stakeholder engagement).Conclusions: Health sector stakeholders see serious political, structural, and financial challenges to improving governance in the national health system in Malawi which will impact the government's goal of achieving UHC by 2030. Stakeholders identify the need for improved oversight, implementation, service delivery and social accountability of government-funded service providers to communities. Eighteen months after the introduction of the policy documents, they see little evidence of improved governance and have little or no confidence in the government's ability to deliver UHC. The difficulties stakeholders perceive in relation to building equitable and effective healthcare governance in Malawi have relevance for other resource-limited countries which have also committed to the goal of UHC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary care nurses play a crucial role in setting personal goals and action plans together with chronically ill patients. This may be a challenge for practice nurses, who are often trained to adopt protocol-based work routines. The aim of this study was to systematically develop a conversation approach, and a corresponding training course, for practice nurses aimed at making shared decisions about goals and actions with their chronically ill patients.Methods: The 6-step iterative Intervention Mapping protocol was used as a framework. This paper describes the first four steps of the protocol. After the first step, in which literature studies as well as qualitative studies were conducted, the overall aim and objectives for the approach were formulated (step 2). In step 3, methods and strategies for the approach were chosen, which were translated into practical components in step 4. In addition, a pilot study was conducted.Results: The main objectives of the approach focus on the ability of practice nurses to explore the patients' perspectives from a holistic point of view, to explicitly formulate goals and action plans, to tailor shared decision making about goals and action plans to individual patients, and to continuously reflect on work-related attitudes. The approach consists of a practical framework for shared decision making about goals and actions. The framework involves a tool for exploring patients' perspectives and a tool for identifying patient profiles, to facilitate tailoring shared decision making. A comprehensive training course for practice nurses was developed.Conclusion: We systematically developed a conversation approach, involving a practical framework with several tools, which aims to support practice nurses in making shared decisions about goals and actions with their patients. As practice nurses need support in their learning process to be able to share decisions with patients, we also developed a comprehensive training course for them. The approach and the training course were developed in close collaboration with important stakeholders. Some critical factors for the implementation of the approach were revealed. These factors will be addressed in the next step, a process evaluation (not part of this paper). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]