Objective: To explore lived experiences of patients communicating with and receiving information from primary health care. Design: Qualitative study analysing transcribed interviews by descriptive content analysis. Setting: Recruitment and interviews took place in southern Sweden in three primary care centres where privacy and undisturbed interview environments was ensured. Subjects: 17 primary care patient informants, 9 men and 8 women aged 31-84 years with varying educational levels from primary school to post graduates. Main outcome measures: Thematic categories and subcategories reporting the lived experience of the patients. Results: The analysis yielded three categories and identified as a main theme a feeling of unpredictability based on the emotional aspects of feeling lost and vulnerable when trying to access primary care. The category" Need for easy access" illustrated emotional aspects of importance to patients when contacting primary health care." Need for individual adaptation" described the need to individually adapt health related information." Information exchange" comprised experiences of information evaluation and understanding new information. Conclusions: Patients generally trusted the information received, but experienced a lack of communication, which evoked feelings of unpredictability and abandonment. Experiences of limited access to primary health care and the need for varying degrees of adaptation on the part of the individual were factors of concern for how patients experienced the care. KEY POINTS Smooth communication and understandable information are fundamental for quality primary health care. This qualitative interview study identified the following key points from analysing the views of 17 patients: Patients indicated a feeling of unpredictability due to lack of access to and communication with health professionals. Patients sometimes reported an inability to understand information conveyed by health professionals. Being able to form relationships with health professionals was crucial for patients' trust and understanding.
Background The vast availability of and demand for evidence in modern primary healthcare force clinical decisions to be made based on condensed evidence in the form of policies and guidelines. Primary healthcare managers play a key role in implementing these governing documents. Thus, the aim of this article is to investigate the use and availability of evidence-based practice resources from the perspective of first-line primary healthcare managers. Methods The study is based on a national survey of primary healthcare managers, consisting of 186 respondents, recruited nationally from Sweden. The data was analysed using empirically constructed concepts and validated using factor analysis. A chi-square test was utilized to determine the statistical significance of comparisons. Associations between variables were calculated using Spearman’s correlation coefficients. All tests were two-sided, and the significance level was set to 0.05. Results A majority (97 %) of managers stated that guidelines and policy documents impacted primary healthcare; 84 % of managers observed a direct effect on daily practices. Most of the managers (70 %) stated that some adaptation was needed when new evidence was introduced. The managers emphasized the importance of keeping themselves updated and open to new information about work routines (96 %). Conclusions The study illustrates a nearly unanimous response about the influence of clinical evidence on daily practice. The emphasis on the importance of all staff members keeping their professional knowledge up to date is viewed as a direct result of this effect on daily practice. An information-dense organization such as a primary healthcare organization would have much to gain from increased cooperation with regional information resources such as clinical libraries.
Background:The Primary care manager plays a vital role in promoting a research culture in the healthcare center. The position involves both the implementation of organizational directives and patient care. The research culture and use of evidence influence each individual healthcare professional and ultimately the quality of patient care. Purpose: To describe primary healthcare managers' understanding of evidence-based practice in the Swedish primary healthcare context and their ability to influence its implementation. Methodology: Qualitative content analysis of data collected in individual interviews. Results: In general, managers expressed a positive view toward the use of evidence in daily practice. However, they were sometimes hesitant about fully implementing evidence-based results. This was mostly attributed to the struggle of balancing finances and allocating sufficient time for staff to keep up with and engage in evidence-based practice. Conclusion:The organizational culture impacts the mind-set of all co-workers including managers. Those managers influenced by traditions and norms may fall into the trap of devaluing the benefit of research and evidence. The inherent feeling of being alone and without guidance in some matters related to evidence-based practice inevitably leads to inconsistency and ambiguity. The use of clinical pathways that constitute one form of evidence has become a substitute for proper, careful, individual investigation, implementation, and evaluation of each patient case. This means that managers experience moral and physical stress when trying to meet organizational, staff, and patient demands. Practice Implication: Awareness of managers' influence and experience of working according to evidence-based practice is valuable to gain an insight into how Swedish primary healthcare functions at local level. Illuminating and discussing evidencebased practice is an assurance of quality that contributes to many aspects of the overall safety of care.
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