Title: Transforming Primary Care in Scotland and China to meet the needs of an ageing population - are health inequalities being tackled?
Funder: Medical Research Council

Abstract: Countries around the world are facing major changes, with many people living to an older age. General Practice and primary care provides much of the healthcare care needs of such ageing populations. China and the United Kingdom (UK) share many similar challenges in health and social care including ageing and wide health inequalities between rich and poor. In Scotland, significant recent changes have been made in primary care including a new Scotland-only GP contract which includes GP Practices working together in 'clusters' (of 5-8 Practices) to improve the quality of care delivered to their local population, and significant expansion of other members of the primary care team (such as advanced practitioners in nursing, pharmacy, and physiotherapy). In China, Community Health Centres (CHCs) have been established over recent years. These are similar to GP Practices in Scotland, though somewhat larger, led by GPs working within primary care teams. A key focus - which is much less prominent in Scottish primary care - is systematic preventive care to support people to live healthier lives and manage their own conditions better. There is an important opportunity for each country to learn from each other, as these changes in primary care develop further. The aim of the study is to explore and compare the effects of these recent changes in primary care in Scotland and China, and to find out if these changes are meeting the needs of ageing patients with long-term conditions, as well as reducing health inequalities. To answer this we will carry out the research in two phases. The first phase will explore what the expected impacts are of the changes in both countries. The second phase will examine the actual impacts and key learning. To answer these questions, we will use freely available national information on patients views (available in both countries), together with GPs views on job satisfaction, workload, and the recent organisational changes, which we will collect in both countries. We will also speak in-depth to staff and patients in both countries. We will do this in a range of different geographical settings to get more detailed information on their views, and analyse these in terms of common themes, and what has been found to help or hinder progress. We will supplement these findings with routine data recorded in the computerised medical records in both countries. We will then consider the implications of the findings for both countries, and share the findings with the public, government, healthcare staff, and other researchers. The findings may also be of interest to other countries that are embarking on similar attempts to improve primary care to meet the needs of ageing populations, and help tackle health inequalities. A unique feature of the research will be collaboration between researchers with different areas of expertise, in social and medical research.


Research activity codes: 8.1 ORGANISATION AND DELIVERY OF SERVICES
Health categories: GENERIC HEALTH RELEVANCE