First nosocomial cluster of COVID-19 due to the Delta variant in a major acute care hospital in Singapore: investigations and outbreak response by Lim, Wei Yen, Tan, Glorijoy Shi En, Htun, Htet Lin, Phua, Hwee Pin, Kyaw, Win Mar, Guo, Huiling, Cui, Lin, Mak, Tze Minn, Poh, Bee Fong, Wong, Judith Chui Ching, Setoh, Yin Xiang, Ang, Brenda Sze Peng, Chow, Angela Li Ping

“…Objectives: The first large nosocomial cluster of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Singapore in April 2021 led to partial closure of a major acute care hospital. This study examined factors associated with infection among patients, staff and visitors; investigated the possible role of aerosol-based transmission; evaluated the effectiveness of BNT162.b2 and mRNA1273 vaccines; and described the successful containment of the cluster. …”
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Can a brief online interdisciplinary program enhance the understanding of musculoskeletal pain amongst primary care staff? A prospective study by Ng, Khim Siong, Goh, Bandy Qiuling, Tang, Woh Peng, Lee, Angela Wing Yan, Lee, Samantha, Koh, Kim Hwee, Shah, Mitesh

“…Background: Primary care staff do not provide consistent education on musculoskeletal pain management to patients in accordance with the recommendations of clinical practice guidelines. …”
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Patients, carers and healthcare providers' perspectives on a patient-owned surveillance system for diabetic foot ulcer care: a qualitative study by Lo, Joseph Zhiwen, Chong, Bryan, Tan, Elaine, Ooi, Desmond, Liew, Huiling, Hoi, Wai Han, Cho, Yuan Teng, Wu, Kyle, Surendra, Naren Kumar, Mammadova, Maleyka, Nah, Audrey, Goh, Victor, Car, Josip

“…Methods: Semi-structured online interviews were conducted with patients, carers and HCPs in wound care for DFUs. The participants were recruited from a primary care polyclinic network and two tertiary hospitals in Singapore, within the same healthcare cluster. …”
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A feasibility study on the efficacy of a patient-owned wound surveillance system for diabetic foot ulcer care (ePOWS study) by Lo, Zhiwen Joseph, Harish, Keerthi B., Tan, Elaine, Zhu, Julia, Chan, Shaun, Liew, Huiling, Hoi, Wai Han, Liang, Shanying, Cho, Yuan Teng, Koo, Hui Y., Wu, Kyle, Car, Josip

“…We aim to perform a novel feasibility study on the efficacy of a patient-owned wound surveillance system for diabetic foot ulcer (DFU) care.…”
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Supporting insulin initiation in type 2 diabetes in primary care: results of the Stepping Up pragmatic cluster randomised controlled clinical trial by Furler, John, O’Neal, David, Speight, Jane, Manski-Nankervis, Jo-Anne, Gorelik, Alexandra, Holmes-Truscott, Elizabeth, Ginnivan, Louise, Young, Doris, Best, James, Patterson, Elizabeth, Liew, Danny, Segal, Leonie, May, Carl, Blackberry, Irene

“…Objective: To compare the effectiveness of a novel model of care (“Stepping Up”) with usual primary care in normalising insulin initiation for type 2 diabetes, leading to improved glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) levels. …”
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‘I don’t care who joins my choir’: investigating attitudes to diversity and inclusivity in lower- and upper-voice choirs in the United Kingdom by MacGregor, E

Non-invasive versus arterial pressure monitoring in the pre-hospital critical care environment: a paired comparison of concurrently recorded measurements by Perera, Y, Poole, K, Raitt, J, Metcalfe, D, Lewinsohn, A

“…<p><strong> Conclusions</strong></p> Non-invasive blood pressure measurements are often inaccurate in the pre-hospital critical care setting, particularly in patients with haemodynamic instability. …”

Trends in end digit preference for blood pressure and associations with cardiovascular outcomes in Canadian and UK primary care: a retrospective observational study by Greiver, M, Kalia, S, Voruganti, T, Aliarzadeh, B, Moineddin, R, Hinton, W, Dawes, M, Sullivan, F, Syed, S, Williams, J, De Lusignan, S

“…</p> <p><strong>Setting</strong> Primary care practices in Canada and the UK.</p> <p><strong>Participants</strong> Adults aged 18 years or more.…”

Diagnostic accuracy of point-of-care lung ultrasound for community-acquired pneumonia in children in ambulatory settings: a systematic review and meta-analysis by Hughes-Davies, H, Ukwatte, U, Roberts, N, Turner, PJ, Hayward, GN, Fanshawe, TR, Bird, C

“…Further research is needed which overcomes issues around training in point-of-care lung ultrasound, study design and reliability of the reference test (chest radiography) to better evidence the role of point-of-care lung ultrasound in diagnosing pneumonia in children in ambulatory and resource-limited settings.…”

A simple approach to improve recording of concerns about child maltreatment in primary care records: developing a quality improvement intervention by Woodman, J, Allister, J, Rafi, I, de Lusignan, S, Belsey, J, Petersen, I, Gilbert, R

“…<p><b>Background</b> Information is lacking on how concerns about child maltreatment are recorded in primary care records. <p><b>Aim</b> To determine how the recording of child maltreatment concerns can be improved. …”

Role of primary and secondary care data in atrial fibrillation ascertainment: impact on risk factor associations, patient management, and mortality in UK Biobank by Camm, CF, Von Ende, A, Gajendragadkar, PR, Pessoa-Amorim, G, Mafham, M, Allen, N, Parish, S, Casadei, B, Hopewell, JC

“…Conclusion: Integration of data from primary care with that from hospital records has a substantial impact on AF ascertainment, identifying a third more cases than hospital records alone. …”

Implementing strategies to improve uptake of patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in gender-affirming care: a mixed-methods implementation study by Kamran, R, Jackman, L, Goodwin, C, Laws, A, Stepney, M, Harrison, C, Jain, A, Rodrigues, J

“…<p><strong>Importance</strong> The Practical Guide to Implementing PROMs in Gender-Affirming Care (PG-PROM-GAC) is an evidence-based resource, which was developed in response to international calls for improved patient-reported outcome measure (PROM) implementation in gender-affirming care. …”

Views and factors influencing Primary Care Practitioner (pcp) interactions with the pharmaceutical industrys representatives in Malaysia: a multi-sectors qualitative study by Salim, Hani, Ping, Yein Lee, Siew, Mooi Ching, Mawardi, Maliza, Wan Idris, Wan Noor Azlin, Harrun, Noor Harzana

“…Methods: We used qualitative methods using semi-structured interviews among primary care practitioners from three sectors; academic, public and private. …”
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Living wishes : a communication campaign encouraging Singapore residents aged 35 to 59 to initiate Advance Care Planning discussions with their elderly parents by Chong, Charlotte Wen Wei, Gouw, Emily Shu Hui, Lee, Phyllis Zhi Ning, Tan, Raelynn Zhi Xuan

“…This brings about significant issues, such as the loss of patient autonomy and increased burden on one’s family members when it comes to making important decisions about one’s EOL care. …”
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Combined action observation and motor imagery : is a functional equivalence approach more effective? by Tan, Cher Han

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Enhancing care quality and accessibility through digital technology-supported decentralisation of hypertension and diabetes management: a proof-of-concept study in rural Bangladesh by Xie, Wubin, Paul, Rina Rani, Goon, Ian Y., Anan, Aysha, Rahim, Aminur, Hossain, Md Mokbul, Hersch, Fred, Oldenburg, Brian, Chambers, John Campbell, Mridha, Malay Kanti

“…Objective: The critical shortage of healthcare workers, particularly in rural areas, is a major barrier to quality care for non-communicable diseases (NCD) in low-income and middle-income countries. …”
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Socio-demographic characteristics and clinical profile of suicide attempters attending the Emergency Department at a Tertiary Care Hospital in Oman: a retrospective study by Al Khatri, Mahmood, Al Huseini, Salim, Almaqbali, Mandhar, Cucchi, Angie, Al-Saadi, Alkhatib, Al Farsi, Abdulmunim, Jose, Sachin, Al-Sibani, Nasser, Al-Adawi, Samir

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Examining patient choice and provider competition under the National Health Insurance Fund outpatient cover in Kenya: does it enhance access and quality of care? by Kazungu, J, Barasa, E, Quaife, M, Nonvignon, J

“…Background: While patient choice and provider competition are predicted to influence provider behaviour for enhancing access and quality of care, evidence on provider perceptions and response to patient choice and provider competition is largely missing in low-resource settings such as Kenya. …”

Evaluation of the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on hospital admission related to common infections: Risk prediction models to tackle antimicrobial resistance in primary care by Fahmi, A, Palin, V, Zhong, X, Yang, Y, Watts, S, Ashcroft, DM, Goldacre, B, MacKenna, B, Fisher, L, Massey, J, Mehrkar, A, Bacon, S, the OpenSAFELY Collaborative, Hand, K, van Staa, TP

“…While this study has several limitations, the results indicate that a focus on risk-based antibiotic prescribing could help tackle AMR in primary care.…”

Prevalence and associated factors of lipohypertrophy in insulin-injected patients with diabetes in selected primary care clinics in Peninsular Malaysian: a cross-sectional study by Alias, Siti Hawa, Teng, Cheong Lieng, Devaraj, Navin Kumar, Amirrudin, Saadatunnoor, Abd Latib, Noor Rawaida, Chong, Fui Yee, Yussof, Syamimi, Mohamad Din, Mohamad Danial, Lim, Poon Wah

“…Introduction: This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of lipohypertrophy in insulin-injecting patients with diabetes at selected primary care clinics in Malaysia. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among adults aged ≥18 years with type 1 or 2 diabetes treated with insulin for at least 6 months at six selected public primary care clinics in Malaysia. …”
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