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Participant practices wanted for unique stress and workload study

Update February 2018: The Primary Care Barometer is now up and running! As of December 2017 practice managers across London have had the exciting opportunity to participate in a novel survey conducted via mobile phone app, which aims to find out about the challenges faced by GP practices as they try to deliver routine services at the same time as implementing changes to service delivery.

Data collection is now underway and a number of willing volunteers have been responding to brief sets of survey questions three times a week, delivered via an app installed on their mobile phones. Feedback from those who have tried the app has been that the process of downloading and installing it was easy and straightforward. The app is has been described as very user friendly and completing the survey in this way was reported to be quicker and easier that traditional pen and paper or email surveys, requiring little time commitment.

The great news is that there is still time for interested practice managers to easily participate in providing real time feedback on how practice managers are experiencing primary care in London.

About the study and how to get involved

Londonwide LMCs is working with an independent evaluation team who want to improve the understanding of the challenges faced by practices as they try to deliver routine services at the same time as implementing changes to service delivery.

The evaluation team are looking for practice managers who are willing to answer a two minute survey around three times a week, asked at random points during each week. The mobile phone based survey will use a sliding scale to quickly find out how participants feel about particular statements, including ones on workload and stress.

The data will be used to create a ‘Primary Care Barometer’ showing the feeling among practice managers through the course of the study. The aim is to capture perceptions ‘in the moment’, in a non-disruptive way. The data from the barometer will be shared with Londownide LMCs and this unique research will become part of the information we use to press for better support for practice managers and their practices.

The evaluation team, from EY and RAND Europe, with input from researchers at the University of Cambridge and the University of Birmingham, have been commissioned by Health London Partnerships to conduct a wider evaluation of the primary care transformation programme in London.

In addition to the ‘Barometer’, the evaluation team will also be exploring any effects that the programme has had with respect to delivering primary care on the ground, by conducting a number of case studies. Selected practices will also be approached to take part in this element of the evaluation.

If you are interested in finding out more about participating in the Primary Care Barometer, please contact Tom Ling, Principal Investigator, at primarycarebarometer@rand.org.

We will be circulating further details of how to get involved in the ‘Primary Care Barometer’ to all London practice managers when more specific details of the timings and content of the study are available.

Last updated : 21 Feb 2018

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