Yes / This study aimed to explore the challenges and barriers faced by staff involved in the delivery
of the National Health Service (NHS) Health Check, a systematic cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk assessment
and management program in primary care.
Data have been derived from three qualitative evaluations that were conducted in 25 General
Practices and involved in depth interviews with 58 staff involved all levels of the delivery of the Health
Checks. Analysis of the data was undertaken using the framework approach and findings are reported within
the context of research and practice considerations.
Findings indicated that there is no ‘one size fits all’ blueprint for maximising uptake although success factors
were identified: evolution of the programme over time in response to local needs to suit the particular characteristics
of the patient population; individual staff characteristics such as being proactive, enthusiastic and having specific
responsibility; a supportive team. Training was clearly identified as an area that needed addressing and practitioners
would benefit from CVD specific baseline training and refresher courses to keep them up to date with recent
developments in the area. However there were other external factors that impinged on an individual’s ability to
provide an effective service, some of these were outside the control of individuals and included cutbacks in referral
services, insufficient space to run clinics or general awareness of the Health Checks amongst patients.
The everyday experiences of practitioners who participated in this study suggest that overall, Health
Check is perceived as a worthwhile exercise. But, organisational and structural barriers need to be addressed. We also
recommend that clear referral pathways be in place so staff can refer patients to appropriate services (healthy eating
sessions, smoking cessation, and exercise referrals). Local authorities need to support initiatives that enable data sharing
and linkage so that GP Practices are informed when patients take up services such as smoking cessation or alcohol
harm reduction programmes run by social services.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BRADFORD/oai:bradscholars.brad.ac.uk:10454/14061 |
| Date | 08 October 2015 |
| Creators | Ismail, Hanif, Kelly, S. |
| Source Sets | Bradford Scholars |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Article, Published version |
| Rights | © 2015 The Authors. This is an Open Access article distributed under the Creative Commons CC-BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
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