Patients' and clinicians' perspectives on the primary care consultations for acute respiratory infections during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an eight-country qualitative study in Europe

Marta Wanat; Melanie Eugenie Hoste; Nina Helene Gobat; Marilena Anastasaki; Femke Böhmer; Slawomir Chlabicz; Annelies Colliers; Karen Farrell; Sophie Hollerbach; Maria-Nefeli Karkana; John Kinsman; Christos Lionis; Ludmila Marcinowicz; Katrin Reinhardt; Ingmarie Skoglund; Pär-Daniel Sundvall; Akke Vellinga; Herman Goossens; Christopher Butler; Alike van der Velden; Sibyl Anthierens; Sarah Tonkin-Crine

doi:10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0172

Patients' and clinicians' perspectives on the primary care consultations for acute respiratory infections during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an eight-country qualitative study in Europe

Marta Wanat, Melanie Eugenie Hoste, Nina Helene Gobat, Marilena Anastasaki, Femke Böhmer, Slawomir Chlabicz, Annelies Colliers, Karen Farrell, Sophie Hollerbach, Maria-Nefeli Karkana, John Kinsman, Christos Lionis, Ludmila Marcinowicz, Katrin Reinhardt, Ingmarie Skoglund, Pär-Daniel Sundvall, Akke Vellinga, Herman Goossens, Christopher Butler, Alike van der VeldenSibyl Anthierens, Sarah Tonkin-Crine

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

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Abstract

BACKGROUND: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients' and clinicians' perceptions of healthcare-seeking behaviour and delivery of care is unclear. The pandemic accelerated the use of remote care, and understanding its benefits and drawbacks may inform its implementation during current and future healthcare emergencies.

AIM: To explore patients' and primary care professionals' (PCPs) experiences of primary care delivery in the first wave of the pandemic.

DESIGN & SETTING: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews in primary care in eight European countries (England, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Sweden, and Germany).

METHOD: A total of 146 interviews were conducted with 80 PCPs and 66 patients consulting for respiratory tract infection (RTI) symptoms, in eight European countries. Data were collected between April and July 2020, and analysed using thematic analysis.

RESULTS: It was found that patients accepted telemedicine when PCPs spent time to understand and address their concerns, but a minority preferred in-person consultations. PCPs felt that remote consultations created emotional distance between themselves and patients, and they reported having to manage diverse COVID-19-related medical and social concerns.

CONCLUSION: Remote consultations for RTI symptoms may be acceptable long term if both groups are happy to use this format, but it is important that PCPs take time to address patients' concerns and provide safety-netting advice.

Original language	English
Journal	BJGP Open
Volume	6
Issue number	2
Early online date	19 Apr 2022
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0172
Publication status	Published - Jun 2022

Keywords

Covid-19
Primary health care
Remote consultations
Telemedicine

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10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0172Licence: CC BY

s13756-022-01132-9Final published version, 1.4 MBLicence: CC BY

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Wanat, M., Hoste, M. E., Gobat, N. H., Anastasaki, M., Böhmer, F., Chlabicz, S., Colliers, A., Farrell, K., Hollerbach, S., Karkana, M.-N., Kinsman, J., Lionis, C., Marcinowicz, L., Reinhardt, K., Skoglund, I., Sundvall, P.-D., Vellinga, A., Goossens, H., Butler, C., ... Tonkin-Crine, S. (2022). Patients' and clinicians' perspectives on the primary care consultations for acute respiratory infections during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an eight-country qualitative study in Europe. BJGP Open, 6(2). https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0172

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title = "Patients' and clinicians' perspectives on the primary care consultations for acute respiratory infections during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an eight-country qualitative study in Europe",

abstract = "BACKGROUND: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients' and clinicians' perceptions of healthcare-seeking behaviour and delivery of care is unclear. The pandemic accelerated the use of remote care, and understanding its benefits and drawbacks may inform its implementation during current and future healthcare emergencies.AIM: To explore patients' and primary care professionals' (PCPs) experiences of primary care delivery in the first wave of the pandemic.DESIGN & SETTING: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews in primary care in eight European countries (England, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Sweden, and Germany).METHOD: A total of 146 interviews were conducted with 80 PCPs and 66 patients consulting for respiratory tract infection (RTI) symptoms, in eight European countries. Data were collected between April and July 2020, and analysed using thematic analysis.RESULTS: It was found that patients accepted telemedicine when PCPs spent time to understand and address their concerns, but a minority preferred in-person consultations. PCPs felt that remote consultations created emotional distance between themselves and patients, and they reported having to manage diverse COVID-19-related medical and social concerns.CONCLUSION: Remote consultations for RTI symptoms may be acceptable long term if both groups are happy to use this format, but it is important that PCPs take time to address patients' concerns and provide safety-netting advice.",

keywords = "Covid-19, Primary health care, Remote consultations, Telemedicine",

author = "Marta Wanat and Hoste, {Melanie Eugenie} and Gobat, {Nina Helene} and Marilena Anastasaki and Femke B{\"o}hmer and Slawomir Chlabicz and Annelies Colliers and Karen Farrell and Sophie Hollerbach and Maria-Nefeli Karkana and John Kinsman and Christos Lionis and Ludmila Marcinowicz and Katrin Reinhardt and Ingmarie Skoglund and P{\"a}r-Daniel Sundvall and Akke Vellinga and Herman Goossens and Christopher Butler and {van der Velden}, Alike and Sibyl Anthierens and Sarah Tonkin-Crine",

note = "Funding Information: This study is part of the output from RECOVER (Rapid European COVID-19 Emergency research Response), which has received funding from the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme (grant agreement number: 101003589). The funder had no role in the writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit for publication. Sarah Tonkin-Crine and Christopher C Butler received additional funding from the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance at the University of Oxford in partnership with Public Health England (reference: HPRU-2012–10041). Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} This article is Open Access: CC BY license (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/)",

year = "2022",

month = jun,

doi = "10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0172",

language = "English",

volume = "6",

journal = "BJGP Open",

issn = "2398-3795",

publisher = "Royal College of General Practitioners",

number = "2",

}

Wanat, M, Hoste, ME, Gobat, NH, Anastasaki, M, Böhmer, F, Chlabicz, S, Colliers, A, Farrell, K, Hollerbach, S, Karkana, M-N, Kinsman, J, Lionis, C, Marcinowicz, L, Reinhardt, K, Skoglund, I, Sundvall, P-D, Vellinga, A, Goossens, H, Butler, C, van der Velden, A, Anthierens, S & Tonkin-Crine, S 2022, 'Patients' and clinicians' perspectives on the primary care consultations for acute respiratory infections during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an eight-country qualitative study in Europe', BJGP Open, vol. 6, no. 2. https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0172

Patients' and clinicians' perspectives on the primary care consultations for acute respiratory infections during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an eight-country qualitative study in Europe. / Wanat, Marta; Hoste, Melanie Eugenie; Gobat, Nina Helene et al.
In: BJGP Open, Vol. 6, No. 2, 06.2022.

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Academic › peer-review

TY - JOUR

T1 - Patients' and clinicians' perspectives on the primary care consultations for acute respiratory infections during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

T2 - an eight-country qualitative study in Europe

AU - Wanat, Marta

AU - Hoste, Melanie Eugenie

AU - Gobat, Nina Helene

AU - Anastasaki, Marilena

AU - Böhmer, Femke

AU - Chlabicz, Slawomir

AU - Colliers, Annelies

AU - Farrell, Karen

AU - Hollerbach, Sophie

AU - Karkana, Maria-Nefeli

AU - Kinsman, John

AU - Lionis, Christos

AU - Marcinowicz, Ludmila

AU - Reinhardt, Katrin

AU - Skoglund, Ingmarie

AU - Sundvall, Pär-Daniel

AU - Vellinga, Akke

AU - Goossens, Herman

AU - Butler, Christopher

AU - van der Velden, Alike

AU - Anthierens, Sibyl

AU - Tonkin-Crine, Sarah

N1 - Funding Information: This study is part of the output from RECOVER (Rapid European COVID-19 Emergency research Response), which has received funding from the EU Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme (grant agreement number: 101003589). The funder had no role in the writing of the manuscript or the decision to submit for publication. Sarah Tonkin-Crine and Christopher C Butler received additional funding from the National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare Associated Infections and Antimicrobial Resistance at the University of Oxford in partnership with Public Health England (reference: HPRU-2012–10041). Publisher Copyright: © This article is Open Access: CC BY license (https://creativecommons. org/licenses/by/4.0/)

PY - 2022/6

Y1 - 2022/6

N2 - BACKGROUND: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients' and clinicians' perceptions of healthcare-seeking behaviour and delivery of care is unclear. The pandemic accelerated the use of remote care, and understanding its benefits and drawbacks may inform its implementation during current and future healthcare emergencies.AIM: To explore patients' and primary care professionals' (PCPs) experiences of primary care delivery in the first wave of the pandemic.DESIGN & SETTING: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews in primary care in eight European countries (England, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Sweden, and Germany).METHOD: A total of 146 interviews were conducted with 80 PCPs and 66 patients consulting for respiratory tract infection (RTI) symptoms, in eight European countries. Data were collected between April and July 2020, and analysed using thematic analysis.RESULTS: It was found that patients accepted telemedicine when PCPs spent time to understand and address their concerns, but a minority preferred in-person consultations. PCPs felt that remote consultations created emotional distance between themselves and patients, and they reported having to manage diverse COVID-19-related medical and social concerns.CONCLUSION: Remote consultations for RTI symptoms may be acceptable long term if both groups are happy to use this format, but it is important that PCPs take time to address patients' concerns and provide safety-netting advice.

AB - BACKGROUND: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients' and clinicians' perceptions of healthcare-seeking behaviour and delivery of care is unclear. The pandemic accelerated the use of remote care, and understanding its benefits and drawbacks may inform its implementation during current and future healthcare emergencies.AIM: To explore patients' and primary care professionals' (PCPs) experiences of primary care delivery in the first wave of the pandemic.DESIGN & SETTING: Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews in primary care in eight European countries (England, Ireland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Greece, Poland, Sweden, and Germany).METHOD: A total of 146 interviews were conducted with 80 PCPs and 66 patients consulting for respiratory tract infection (RTI) symptoms, in eight European countries. Data were collected between April and July 2020, and analysed using thematic analysis.RESULTS: It was found that patients accepted telemedicine when PCPs spent time to understand and address their concerns, but a minority preferred in-person consultations. PCPs felt that remote consultations created emotional distance between themselves and patients, and they reported having to manage diverse COVID-19-related medical and social concerns.CONCLUSION: Remote consultations for RTI symptoms may be acceptable long term if both groups are happy to use this format, but it is important that PCPs take time to address patients' concerns and provide safety-netting advice.

KW - Covid-19

KW - Primary health care

KW - Remote consultations

KW - Telemedicine

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85136580148&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0172

DO - 10.3399/BJGPO.2021.0172

M3 - Article

C2 - 35031559

SN - 2398-3795

VL - 6

JO - BJGP Open

JF - BJGP Open

IS - 2

ER -

Patients' and clinicians' perspectives on the primary care consultations for acute respiratory infections during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic: an eight-country qualitative study in Europe

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