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Quality of care in Belgian general practices during the COVID-19 pandemic: results of the cross-sectional PRICOV-19 study.
- Source :
- BMC Primary Care; 3/5/2024, Vol. 25 Issue 1, p1-14, 14p
- Publication Year :
- 2024
-
Abstract
- Background: The COVID-19 pandemic immensely impacted care provision, including quality of care in general practice. This paper aimed: (1) to assess how Belgian general practices acted upon the six dimensions of quality of care during COVID-19; (2) to study differences between the three Belgian regions; and (3) to benchmark the performance of the Belgian practices against the performance in other European countries. Methods: The data collected from 479 Belgian practices during 2020–2021 using an online survey as part of the international cross-sectional PRICOV-19 study were analyzed. Hereby, descriptive statistics, chi-squared tests, and binary logistic regression analyses were performed. Thirty-four survey questions related to the six dimensions of quality of care were selected as outcome variables. The adjusted regression models included four practice characteristics as covariates: practice type, being a teaching practice for GP trainees, multidisciplinarity of the team, and payment system. Results: Belgian practices made important organizational changes to deliver high-quality care during COVID-19. Most practices (n = 259; 56.1%) actively reached out to vulnerable patients. Limitations to the practice building or infrastructure threatened high-quality care in 266 practices (55.5%). Infection prevention measures could not always be implemented during COVID-19, such as using a cleaning protocol (n = 265; 57.2%) and providing a separate doctor bag for infection-related home visits (n = 130; 27.9%). Three hundred and sixty practices (82.0%) reported at least one safety incident related to a delayed care process in patients with an urgent condition. The adjusted regression analysis showed limited significant differences between the Belgian regions regarding the quality of care delivered. Belgian practices demonstrated varied performance compared to other European countries. For example, they excelled in always checking the feasibility of isolation at home but reported more patient safety incidents related to timely care than at least three-quarters of the other European countries. Conclusions: Future studies using different design methods are crucial to investigate which country and practice characteristics are associated with delivering high-quality care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Subjects :
- INFECTION prevention
CROSS-sectional method
PUBLIC health infrastructure
MEDICAL information storage & retrieval systems
PEARSON correlation (Statistics)
MEDICAL quality control
FAMILY medicine
PATIENT safety
RESEARCH funding
LOGISTIC regression analysis
AT-risk people
EQUALITY
EVALUATION of organizational effectiveness
INDEPENDENT variables
POPULATION geography
DESCRIPTIVE statistics
CHI-squared test
PATIENT-centered care
ODDS ratio
MULTILINGUALISM
COMMUNICATION
TREATMENT delay (Medicine)
DATA analysis software
COMPARATIVE studies
CONFIDENCE intervals
COVID-19 pandemic
TIME
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 27314553
- Volume :
- 25
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- Complementary Index
- Journal :
- BMC Primary Care
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 176627689
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.1186/s12875-024-02305-8