Contemporary Educational Interventions for General Practitioners (GPs) in Primary Care Settings in Australia: A Systematic Literature Review

Christina Maresch Bernardes; Isanka Umayangani Ratnasekera; Joo Hyun Kwon; Sivagowri Somasundaram; Geoffrey K Mitchell; Shaouli Shahid; Judith Meiklejohn; James O'Beirne; Patricia C Valery; Elizabeth E Powell

doi:10.3389/fpubh.2019.00176

Back

Contemporary Educational Interventions for General Practitioners (GPs) in Primary Care Settings in Australia: A Systematic Literature Review

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Contemporary Educational Interventions for General Practitioners (GPs) in Primary Care Settings in Australia: A Systematic Literature Review

Christina Maresch Bernardes, Isanka Umayangani Ratnasekera, Joo Hyun Kwon, Sivagowri Somasundaram, Geoffrey K Mitchell, Shaouli Shahid, Judith Meiklejohn, James O'Beirne, Patricia C Valery and Elizabeth E Powell

Frontiers in Public Health, Vol.7, pp.1-13

2019

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00176

PMCID: PMC6609323

PMID: 31316961

Files and links (2)

pdf

Contemporary Educational Interventions for General Practitioners (GPs) in Primary Care Settings in Australia- A Systematic Literature Review635.21 kBDownload View

Published VersionCC BY V4.0, Open Access

url

https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00176View

Published Version

Abstract

Public health

Primary care

Australia

educational

GPs

intervention

Background: The primary purpose of educational interventions is to optimize the clinical management of patients. General practitioners (GPs) play a major role in the detection and management of diseases. This systematic literature review will describe the type and outcomes of educational interventions designed for general practitioners (GPs) in the Australian context. Methods: PubMed, CINHAL, and Scopus databases were systematically searched for studies on educational interventions conducted for GPs in Australia during 1st January 2008 to 11th June 2018. Data collected on the methodology of the interventions, GPs satisfaction regarding the educational intervention, changes in knowledge, confidence, skills and clinical behavior of the GPs. We also assessed whether the acquired clinical competencies had an impact on organizational change and on patient health. Results: Thirteen publications were included in this review. The methods with which educational interventions were developed and implemented varied substantially and rigorous evaluation was generally lacking particularly in detailing the outcomes. The reported GP response rate varied between 2 and 96% across studies, depending upon the method of recruitment, the type of intervention and the study setting (rural vs. urban). The most effective recruitment strategy was a combination of initial contact coupled with a visit to GP practices. Nine of the studies reviewed reported improvement in at least one outcome measure: gaining knowledge, improving skills or change in clinical behavior which was translated into clinical practice. In the 3 pre- and post-intervention analysis studies, 90–100% of the participating GPs reported improvement in their knowledge and attitudes. Conclusion: Education interventions for GPs in Australia had low response (recruitment) and retention (GPs that participated in follow-ups) rates, even when financial benefits or CPD points were used as incentives. Higher GP response rates were achieved through multiple recruitment strategies. Multifaceted interventions were more likely to achieve the primary outcome by improving knowledge, skills or changing practice, but the effect was often modest. Inconsistent results were reported in studies involving the use of multiple contact methods within an intervention and conducting online interventions.

Details

Title: Contemporary Educational Interventions for General Practitioners (GPs) in Primary Care Settings in Australia: A Systematic Literature Review
Authors: Christina Maresch Bernardes (Author) - QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Isanka Umayangani Ratnasekera (Author) - QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Joo Hyun Kwon (Author) - QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Sivagowri Somasundaram (Author) - QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Geoffrey K Mitchell (Author) - The University of Queensland
Shaouli Shahid (Author) - Curtin University
Judith Meiklejohn (Author) - Orange Sky Australia - Brisbane, Australia
James O'Beirne (Author) - Sunshine Coast Hospital and Health Service
Patricia C Valery (Author) - QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute
Elizabeth E Powell (Author) - Princess Alexandra Hospital
Publication details: Frontiers in Public Health, Vol.7, pp.1-13
Publisher: Frontiers Research Foundation
Date published: 2019
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2019.00176
ISSN: 2296-2565
PMID: 31316961; PMC6609323
Copyright note: Copyright © 2019 Bernardes, Ratnasekera, Kwon, Somasundaram, Mitchell, Shahid, Meiklejohn, O'Beirne, Valery and Powell. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
Organisation Unit: University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health and Behavioural Sciences - Legacy
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99609707902621
Output Type: Journal article

Metrics

10 File views/ downloads

36 Record Views

9 Times Cited - Web of Science

InCites Highlights

These are selected metrics from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool, related to this output

Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Web Of Science research areas: Public, Environmental & Occupational Health

UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

This output has contributed to the advancement of the following goals:

Source: InCites