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HKCFP-HKU Primary Care Morbidity Survey in Hong Kong

Completed
Conditions
Primary Health Care
Registration Number
NCT04736992
Lead Sponsor
The University of Hong Kong
Brief Summary

Background:

Information about the health problems of patients presenting in primary care is crucial to understanding the health of the general community for the planning and allocation of health care resources. Practice-based morbidity studies conducted in primary care settings have proven to be helpful in documentation of disease prevalence and for service planning. With the change in morbidity pattern and the aging population, our study will help to inform primary health care policy and guide work force and service planning.

Method:

This is a prospective practice-based study of health problems presenting in primary care. Doctors who agree to participate in the study will record the health problem and type of management performed in consecutive patient encounters for one of the designated weeks during each season over the course of one year.

Analysis:

Data collected will be analysed by descriptive statistics, comparison with data from previous morbidity study, and by non-linear mixed effects for factors associated with morbidity and management patterns in primary care.

Results:

Findings will will 1) provide evidence to support the allocation of resources to continue and to expand primary care initiatives that support the provision of quality chronic disease care in private sector, 2) enable continued surveillance of the morbidity trends in Hong Kong by providing data for comparison with past and future studies, and 3) inform the content of educational curricula for medical and health care students and practitioners to prepare them to better meet the needs of the community.

Detailed Description

Not available

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
COMPLETED
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
49
Inclusion Criteria
  • Consented primary care doctors in Hong Kong who are working in:
  • the public sector (GOPC), or
  • Department of Health Clinic, or
  • private solo or group practices, or
  • university health services, or
  • non-profit organizations, or
  • private hospital family medicine clinics
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Exclusion Criteria
  • Doctors who do not consent
  • Doctors who are not working as primary care doctors
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Study & Design

Study Type
OBSERVATIONAL
Study Design
Not specified
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Prevalence of health problems and diseases presenting in primary careimmediately after completion of data collection, up to 6 months
Factors which affect the proportion and distribution of health problems in the public sector compared with the private sectorimmediately after completion of data collection, up to 6 months
Rates of management activities including referral, investigation, prescription and preventive care intervention by primary care doctorsimmediately after completion of data collection, up to 6 months
Distribution of health problems and diseases presenting in the public compared with the private primary care settingimmediately after completion of data collection, up to 6 months
Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Prescription rates of specific classes of drugs including benzodiazepines, antidepressants, NSAIDs, and antibioticsimmediately after completion of data collection, up to 6 months
Seasonal variation in primary care morbidity patternimmediately after completion of data collection, up to 6 months
Relationship between patient's presenting problem and doctor's diagnosisimmediately after completion of data collection, up to 6 months

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Department of Family Medicine and Primary Care, University of Hong Kong

🇭🇰

Hong Kong, Hong Kong

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