Producing information for patients about the quality of general practice services EQuiP open meeting, Brussels, November 2004.

Producing information for patients about

the quality of general practice services

EQuiP open meeting, Brussels, November 2004

The research team

Jenny Noble, Rod Sheaff, Martin MarshallNPCRDC, University of Manchester

Helen Davies, Glyn ElwynDepartment of Primary Care, University of Swansea

Kieran Walshe, Manchester Centre for Health Care Management, University of Manchester

Heather WatermanSchool of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Visiting, University of Manchester

Aim

To publish information about the quality and range of general practice services which is useful to patients

What do we know?

1. Information can be a useful lever to engage and empower2. Providing information is an important part of UK policy3. There are some problems with public reporting4. There is not a major demand for information from the public5. The content and presentation format of much of the performance information aimed at the public is poor6. Minimal information is available about primary care services

Our approach

An action research project

• Flexible• Focuses on stakeholder engagement• Uses research team expertise• Feeds findings back into process

Stages of the project

1. Recruitment of participants

2. Fact finding

3. Feedback

4. Planning

5. Action

6. On-going evaluation

7. Evaluation of outcomes

Results

1. Public engagement

• Supportive in principle• No major demand• Reflects general challenges

of involving the public• Research team driving

process

2. Use of comparisons

• Don’t like league tables• Don’t like word ‘report’• More interested in commitment to

improve than in relative performance

• Strong sense of social solidarity with NHS and commitment to practices

3. Targeting the audience

• Public reporting requires more than putting routine data into the public domain

• The public have very specific information needs

• Need to target sub-groups

4. How information is used

Information-telling mode:

• rational decision making• egocentric• consumerist

Knowledge-construction mode:

• social processes• complex, emergent, interactive• collectivist

5. Source of information

• cynical about politicisation• desire for independent view• demand for partnership

6. Content and presentation

NothingSocial

marketingConsumerism

6. Content and presentation (1)

• Hard copy and web-based• Present content as hierarchy

• context

• structures

• processes

• outcomes

• Beware overload

6. Content and presentation (2)

• Break up text• headings, bullets, FAQs• make scanning easy

• Use visual displays• Use narratives

The product: ‘Your guide to general practice’

1. Service user as sole target

2. Clear purpose – to engage

3. Joint ownership – independent + patient + practice

The product: ‘Your guide to general practice’

4. Focus on individual practices but standardised format and comparisons with local mean

5. Information presented in hierarchy

6. ‘crystal mark’ presentation

7. Hard copy and web-based versions

Summary

• The public in the UK want to know more about the range and quality of general practice services

• They do not want to be treated like ‘consumers’• They need to be involved in decisions about the

content and presentation format of information

[email protected]