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Background: The COVID-19 vaccination campaign in several European countries involved collaboration between public health and Primary Health Care (PHC)., Objective: To highlight the role of PHC professionals in the COVID-19 vaccination rollout, specifically in terms of vaccine administration, communication and contributing to vaccination population coverage., Methods: A descriptive retrospective study of the COVID-19 vaccination campaign across 28 European countries was conducted, covering data from December 2020 to November 2021. Data were collected by key informants recruited from each country, who were health professionals involved in their national vaccination campaigns. Utilising an ad-hoc semi-structured questionnaire, information was gathered on organisation, communication strategies, priority groups, vaccine types, and vaccination pathways in PHC., Results: PHC participated in communication strategies in 10 out of 28 countries, and vaccination was voluntary in most of them. The priority groups for vaccination varied across Europe, and the availability of vaccines in PHC differed between countries within the European Union (EU) and non-EU countries. The BioNTech Pfizer vaccine was the most widely available vaccine in most countries, followed by Moderna and AstraZeneca. PHC administered COVID-19 vaccines to the population, being the nurses the most involved, followed by general practitioners. Vaccination appointments were available online in 18/28 or by phone in 15/28, direct appointments at health centres were available in 8/28. In several countries, healthcare professionals who administered vaccines were given extra compensation for their role., Conclusion: PHC professionals played a crucial role in the successful distribution and administration of COVID-19 vaccines in European countries.

Background: Primary Health Care (PHC) plays a crucial role in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, with only 8% of cases requiring hospitalization. However, PHC COVID-19 data often goes unnoticed on European government dashboards and in media discussions. This project aims to examine official information on PHC patient care during the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe, with specific objectives: (1) Describe PHC's clinical pathways for acute COVID-19 cases, including long-term care facilities, (2) Describe PHC COVID-19 pandemic indicators, (3) Develop COVID-19 PHC activity indicators, (4) Explain PHC's role in vaccination strategies, and (5) Create a PHC contingency plan for future pandemics., Methods: A mixed-method study will employ two online questionnaires to gather retrospective PHC data on COVID-19 management and PHC involvement in vaccination strategies. Validation will occur through focus group discussions with medical and public health (PH) experts. A two-wave Delphi survey will establish a European PHC indicators dashboard for future pandemics. Additionally, a coordinated health system action plan involving PHC, secondary care, and PH will be devised to address future pandemic scenarios., Analysis: Quantitative data will be analysed using STATA v16.0 for descriptive and multivariate analyses. Qualitative data will be collected through peer-reviewed questionnaires and content analysis of focus group discussions. A Delphi survey and multiple focus groups will be employed to achieve consensus on PHC indicators and a common European health system response plan for future pandemics. The Eurodata research group involving researchers from 28 European countries support the development., Discussion: While PHC manages most COVID-19 acute cases, data remains limited in many European countries. This study collects data from numerous countries, offering a comprehensive perspective on PHC's role during the pandemic in Europe. It pioneers the development of a PHC dashboard and health system plan for pandemics in Europe. These results may prove invaluable in future pandemics. However, data may have biases due to key informants' involvement and may not fully represent all European GP practices. PHC has a significant role in the management of the COVID-19 pandemic, as most of the cases are mild or moderate and only 8% needed hospitalization. However, PHC COVID-19 activity data is invisible on governments' daily dashboards in Europe, often overlooked in media and public debates., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Performing cardiovascular and cancer screenings in target populations can reduce mortality. Visiting a General Practitioner (GP) once a year is related to an increased likelihood of preventive care. The aim of this study was to analyse the influence of visiting a GP in the last year on the delivery of preventive services based on sex and household income., Methods: Cross-sectional study using data collected from the European Health Interview Survey 2013-2015 of individuals aged 40-74 years from 29 European countries. The variables included: sociodemographic factors (age, sex, and household income (HHI) quintiles [HHI 1: lowest income, HHI 5: more affluent]), lifestyle factors, comorbidities, and preventive care services (cardiometabolic, influenza vaccination, and cancer screening). Descriptive statistics, bivariate analyses and multilevel models (level 1: citizen, level 2: country) were performed., Results: 242,212 subjects were included, 53.7% were female. The proportion of subjects who received any cardiometabolic screening (92.4%) was greater than cancer screening (colorectal cancer: 44.1%, gynaecologic cancer: 40.0%) and influenza vaccination. Individuals who visited a GP in the last year were more prone to receive preventive care services (cardiometabolic screening: adjusted OR (aOR): 7.78, 95% CI: 7.43-8.15; colorectal screening aOR: 1.87, 95% CI: 1.80-1.95; mammography aOR: 1.76, 95% CI: 1.69-1.83 and Pap smear test: aOR: 1.89, 95% CI:1.85-1.94). Among those who visited a GP in the last year, the highest ratios of cardiometabolic screening and cancer screening benefited those who were more affluent. Women underwent more blood pressure measurements than men regardless of the HHI. Men were more likely to undergo influenza vaccination than women regardless of the HHI. The highest differences between countries were observed for influenza vaccination, with a median odds ratio (MOR) of 6.36 (under 65 years with comorbidities) and 4.30 (over 65 years with comorbidities), followed by colorectal cancer screening with an MOR of 2.26., Conclusions: Greater adherence to preventive services was linked to individuals who had visited a GP at least once in the past year. Disparities were evident among those with lower household incomes who visited a GP. The most significant variability among countries was observed in influenza vaccination and colorectal cancer screening., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

Background: Most COVID-19 patients were treated in primary health care (PHC) in Europe., Objectives: To demonstrate the scope of PHC workflow during the COVID-19 pandemic emphasising similarities and differences of patient's clinical pathways in Europe., Methods: Descriptive, cross-sectional study with data acquired through a semi-structured questionnaire in PHC in 30 European countries, created ad hoc and agreed upon among all researchers who participated in the study. GPs from each country answered the approved questionnaire. Main variable: PHC COVID-19 acute clinical pathway. All variables were collected from each country as of September 2020., Results: COVID-19 clinics in PHC facilities were organised in 8/30. Case detection and testing were performed in PHC in 27/30 countries. RT-PCR and lateral flow tests were performed in PHC in 23/30, free of charge with a medical prescription. Contact tracing was performed mainly by public health authorities. Mandatory isolation ranged from 5 to 14 days. Sick leave certification was given exclusively by GPs in 21/30 countries. Patient hotels or other resources to isolate patients were available in 12/30. Follow-up to monitor the symptoms and/or new complementary tests was made mainly by phone call (27/30). Chest X-ray and phlebotomy were performed in PHC in 18/30 and 23/30 countries, respectively. Oxygen and low-molecular-weight heparin were available in PHC (21/30)., Conclusion: In Europe PHC participated in many steps to diagnose, treat and monitor COVID-19 patients. Differences among countries might be addressed at European level for the management of future pandemics.

Background and Aim: Primary health care (PHC) supported long-term care facilities (LTCFs) in attending COVID-19 patients. The aim of this study is to describe the role of PHC in LTCFs in Europe during the early phase of the pandemic., Methods: Retrospective descriptive study from 30 European countries using data from September 2020 collected with an ad hoc semi-structured questionnaire. Related variables are SARS-CoV-2 testing, contact tracing, follow-up, additional testing, and patient care., Results: Twenty-six out of the 30 European countries had PHC involvement in LTCFs during the COVID-19 pandemic. PHC participated in initial medical care in 22 countries, while, in 15, PHC was responsible for SARS-CoV-2 test along with other institutions. Supervision of individuals in isolation was carried out mostly by LTCF staff, but physical examination or symptom's follow-up was performed mainly by PHC., Conclusion: PHC has participated in COVID-19 pandemic assistance in LTCFs in coordination with LTCF staff, public health officers, and hospitals.

This article describes the management of human resource and the vaccination strategies in primary care in twelve European countries in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. All the countries have found solutions to increase their workforce in primary care. Other healthcare professionals were incorporated to support family doctors assuming their tasks, under their supervision and coordination. The European Commission had a crucial role in the production, purchase and distribution of the vaccines. The engagement of primary care in the vaccination campaign has had an unequal participation in the different countries, although the greatest burden has been managed from the government's public health departments., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

We describe the role of primary care (PC) in 12 European countries in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic. There is no official information at European level on the activity of PC. The findings were: All countries provided COVID-19 information through telephone lines and websites to their citizens. Contact tracing was mainly carried out by Public Health except for Ireland, Portugal and Spain. The epidemiological surveillance task has overlapped with the PC assistance. Active Infection Diagnostic Tests (AIDT) were performed in PC exclusively in Spain. The other countries performed them in external laboratories. Patients were followed-up in PC mostly by remote assessment. Health coverage for vulnerable populations and nursing homes has been regulated in all countries. There is a need for a strategic plan for PC in Europe that responds to the challenges posed., (Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.)

Disentangling the relative role of species sorting and dispersal limitation in biological communities has become one of the main issues for community ecologists and biogeographers. In this study, we analysed a data set of epiphytic diatoms comprising 34 lakes from six European countries. This data set covers a relatively large latitudinal gradient to elucidate which processes are affecting the distribution of diatom communities on a broad spatial extent. Our results show strong environmental effects on the composition of the diatom communities, while the spatial factor effects were weak, emphasising that compositional variation was mainly due to species turnover. Our data support information from the literature that local abiotic factors are the main predictors controlling the compositional variation of diatom assemblages in European shallow lakes. More specifically, changes in species composition were driven mainly by nutrient content in Northern Europe, whereas lakes located in Southern Europe were more affected by conductivity and lake depth. Our results solve pending questions in the spatial ecology of diatoms by proving that species turnover is stronger than nestedness at any spatial scale, and give support to the use of epiphytic diatoms as biological indicators for shallow lakes., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)