Food allergies affect one in five children in the UK. To help set the priorities for future research, University of Bristol researchers are asking children and young people with food allergies, their parents, and health care professionals who care for them for their views.
As Kim Leadbeater’s Bill on Assisted Dying enters debate in the Commons, it’s a timely moment to reflect on our attitudes to death and bereavement. 59% of adults in the UK believe society still doesn’t talk enough about death and dying (Ref 1), and many of us are unsure how to support someone who’s been bereaved (Ref 2).
Culturally appropriate women-centred interventions can help healthcare systems respond to domestic violence, research has found. HERA (Healthcare Responding to Violence and Abuse) has been co-developing and evaluating a domestic violence and abuse healthcare intervention in low- and middle-income countries for the past five years. This National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Global Research Group will report their findings, and publish a PolicyBristol report, at a conference in London today [27 November].
The Additional Roles Reimbursement Scheme (ARRS) is associated with a small improvement in patient satisfaction and perceptions of access, according to a new study published in the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP). However, the scheme did not improve outcomes in the Quality and Outcomes Framework (QOF).
A play jointly developed and performed by public contributors and a community theatre team raised awareness of domestic abuse, according to a new paper published in Health Expectations. However, opinions were divided on whether it was also able to successfully disseminate messages about patient and public involvement (PPI) in research on sensitive subjects.
A new study has found that community pharmacies could play a significant role in expanding access to pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), a highly effective pill for preventing HIV infection. The researchers found that pharmacies could provide a more convenient and discreet option for those who are underserved by the current model of PrEP delivery through sexual health clinics in England.
Having blood tests or getting blood test results can be worrying and sometimes confusing, especially if communication around them is poor. Dr Jess Watson, a GP and academic clinical lecturer at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, has been exploring how GPs and others working in general practice communicate with patients about blood tests to see if there might be ways of doing it better.
More must be done to raise awareness of Sexual Assault Referral Centres (SARCs) according to a Coventry University-led study, conducted in collaboration with the Universities of Birmingham, Bristol, Leicester, Hertfordshire and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust.
GPs could potentially use a psychosis risk prediction tool (P-risk) developed by researchers to detect whether their patients are at risk of experiencing psychosis. The University of Bristol team developed P-risk to help GPs identify at-risk patients as early as possible.
Pioneering local HIV programme Common Ambition Bristol has won the Commissioning for Patient Experience award at the 2024 Patient Experience Network National Awards.
Members of the public are invited to be part of a live Irish-style wake this week [Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 October] to explore how new digital technologies can influence the way we memorialise and remember loved ones.
A trial that showed a cheap and widely available prescription drug can improve symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) in patients seen in GP surgeries has been awarded Research Paper of the Year by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP).
The Centre for Academic Primary Care/NIHR ARC West Bridging Gaps project and Liverpool’s Tackling Racial Inequalities in Health project are case studies in a new British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) paper. The analysis explores how people with lived experience can be centred and empowered in co-designing trauma-informed primary care services that address health inequalities.
Applications for the 2025 NIHR School for Primary Care Research funded doctoral programme for primary care clinicians are now open.
Following the success of last year’s inaugural Good Grief Weston, the festival returns to Weston-super-Mare in October for its second edition. This year’s event, taking place from 10 to 13 October, will also see the festival extending to communities in North Somerset in a varied, creative programme that aims to open up conversations around death and bereavement, with honesty, compassion, joy and sometimes with humour.
A new study by researchers at the University of Bristol has revealed differences in victims’ and perpetrators’ experiences of domestic abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic. Conducted as part of the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded REPROVIDE trial, which is evaluating a group-based programme for domestic abuse perpetrators, the research involved interviews with male perpetrators and female survivors.
Alastair Hay, a GP and Professor of Primary Care at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol, has been elected Honorary Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians (RCP).
A team led by the University of Bristol has been awarded more than £1.4m to develop a point of care test for antibiotic resistant urinary tract infections from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR).
Researchers from the University of Bristol and the Primary Care Academic Collaborative (PACT) reviewed how GPs action and communicate blood test results and found significant differences and gaps in how blood test results are managed in primary care across the UK. A new study published in BMJ Open Quality asked GPs from PACT to review the results of 2,572 patients who had had blood tests in April 2021.
From 3-5 July, we will be welcoming over 400 delegates from the UK and internationally to Bristol for this year’s Society for Academic Primary Care (SAPC) Annual Scientific Meeting. SAPC is the leading organisation championing academic primary care in the UK.
This week we celebrated the distinguished career of our esteemed colleague, Chris Salisbury, Professor of Primary Health Care at the Centre for Academic Primary Care (CAPC) and National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Senior Investigator, who will be retiring at the end of the month.
Professor Gene Feder OBE, Professor of Primary Care at the Centre for Academic Primary Care, University of Bristol, has been elected to the Academy of Medical Sciences’ respected and influential Fellowship. He joins 58 biomedical and health scientists selected for their exceptional contributions to the advancement of medical science.
The Game of Stones research study offered men £400 for losing weight.
A major clinical trial investigating whether GP use of rapid diagnostic tests for respiratory (chest) infections can reduce same-day antibiotic prescribing in primary care has completed recruitment early.
As part of the programme for this year’s Society for Academic Primary Care Annual Scientific Meeting (SAPC ASM), which we are hosting in Bristol on 3-5 July, we are inviting submissions for an art exhibition on the theme of water and health. Successful submissions will be displayed at the conference and online. There will be prizes of £150 for outstanding entries. Anyone is welcome to make a submission, including delegates to the conference.
Clinicians have found the ‘CHIldren with acute COugh’ (CHICO) intervention valuable in supporting decision-making around antibiotic prescribing and facilitating discussions with carers about concerns and treatment options, according to University of Bristol led research published in the British Journal of General Practice.
The University of Bristol is home to a new Centre for Applied Excellence in Skin and Allergy Research (CAESAR), which has been established to improve the diagnosis and treatment of common skin and allergy problems in primary care.
First-year University of Bristol PhD student, Anna Pathmanathan, is exploring respiratory health outcomes and antibiotic prescribing trends among different ethnicities. She shared information about her project during one of the People in Health West of England’s researcher coffee catch-ups.
Evidence on the effectiveness of knowledge sharing techniques and approaches in National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) funded research could be improved, according to a newly published systematic review, which was supported by the NIHR Dissemination and Knowledge Mobilisation team.
You can now register for this year’s Society for Academic Primary Care Annual Scientific Meeting (SAPC ASM) , which is being held at the University of Bristol on 3-5 July.
A new study exploring the use of repeat antibiotic prescriptions for the same respiratory tract infection (RTI) episode – known as repeat ‘within-episode’ prescriptions – in primary care has found high rates of their use in England, despite evidence that they are of little benefit. The study authors, from the Universities of Bristol and Bath, King’s College London, and University Medical Center Utrecht, are calling for a reduction in their use and to make them a target for antimicrobial stewardship interventions.
General practice teams changed their services to better include patients with severe and multiple disadvantage (SMD) after facilitated collaboration with people with lived experience according to a paper published in the British Journal of General Practice. Implementing these changes brought joy and satisfaction to general practice staff and increased connections with patients and community organisations.
A new toolkit to support cancer professionals to identify and respond to signs of domestic abuse in patients with cancer and their carers is being launched today [26 March]. The toolkit has been developed in partnership with the University of Bristol, Standing Together Against Domestic Abuse, and Macmillan Cancer Support.
A new clinical trial of a general practice programme to improve the identification and referral of men and children affected by domestic abuse begins in May thanks to a £2.2 million National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) award to University of Bristol researchers, in partnership with Oxford University and the social enterprise IRISi.
Applications are open for The National Institute for Health and Care Research School for Primary Care Research (NIHR SPCR) post-doctoral fellowships to start in October 2024.
Applications are invited from individuals with a strong academic record who want to develop a career in primary care research and are able to start a PhD September 2024. Applicants should have a first degree relevant to primary care research.
We have two exciting summer internship opportunities for UK undergraduates who are interested in primary care research. These are a fantastic opportunity to get hands-on experience conducting primary care research with experts in the field.
Sharing prescription medications is common and a public health concern, according to researchers at the Universities of Bristol and Sheffield, whose study investigating the behaviour was published in the British Journal of General Practice (BJGP) today [20 February].
Blackpool, Weston-super-Mare and Hastings are focus areas under the scheme.
A detailed study of intimate partner violence and abuse (IPVA) among young people in the UK has found that a ‘loneliness loop’ risks trapping young people in a repeating cycle of abuse. The University of Bristol-led research, which analysed survey data from 3,000 young people, recommends early intervention to prevent young people from experiencing IPVA.
