Submit to Special Issue Submit Abstract to Special Issue Review for Healthcare Propose a Special Issue

Journal Browser

► Journal Browser

Primary and Community Care: Opportunities and Challenges

Print Special Issue Flyer
Special Issue Editors
Special Issue Information
Keywords
Published Papers

A special issue of Healthcare (ISSN 2227-9032). This special issue belongs to the section "Community Care".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 6 June 2024 | Viewed by 6719

Share This Special Issue

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Josep Vidal-Alaball

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor

Health Promotion in Rural Areas Research Group, Gerència Territorial de la Catalunya Central, Catalan Health Institute, Sant Fruitós de Bages, Spain
Interests: primary health care; public health; social media; medical education; telemedicine; eHealth
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

We are organizing a Special Issue on primary and community care in healthcare. The journal Healthcare is scientific and peer reviewed and publishes articles and communications in the areas of healthcare systems, industry, technology, policy, and regulation. For more detailed information on the journal, you can visit our website: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/healthcare.

Primary care is the first point of contact between patients and healthcare providers, and it plays a critical role in the prevention, diagnosis, and management of common medical conditions. Primary care providers, such as family doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, are responsible for providing comprehensive care that includes health promotion, disease prevention, and the management of acute and chronic illnesses. They also coordinate care with other healthcare professionals and refer patients to hospital specialists as needed. Community care, on the other hand, refers to a range of healthcare services that are provided outside of the hospital setting and are designed to support patients in their homes and communities. This includes home health services, hospice care, and mental health services. Community care is typically provided by a team of healthcare professionals who work together to deliver coordinated care to patients. Overall, primary care and community care are essential components of a comprehensive healthcare system. By providing accessible, patient-centered care that is focused on prevention and early intervention, these services can help to improve health outcomes and reduce healthcare costs in the long term. eHealth is increasingly taking on a significant role, and will continue to do so, in the delivery of primary care services. It has the potential to greatly improve patient access to care, promote patient engagement, support care coordination among providers, and facilitate preventive care. We welcome submissions on a variety of topics, including, but not limited to: examining the effectiveness of different models of primary care delivery; the impact of primary care on patient outcomes and healthcare costs; the impact of social determinants of health on access to community care; analyzing the role of community care in reducing hospital readmissions; examining the impact of integrated primary and community care on patient outcomes and healthcare costs; examining the impact of eHealth on primary care delivery; Analyzing the factors influencing patient adoption and use of eHealth in primary care; and the role of eHealth in promoting patient-centered care and improving health outcomes in integrated care.

Dr. Josep Vidal-Alaball
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Healthcare is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

primary health care
community care
primary care models
general practice
general medicine
Family Medicine
Community-based care
Palliative care
home health services
patient-centered care
eHealth
telemedicine

Published Papers (4 papers)

Download All Papers

Research

Jump to: Review

17 pages, 647 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relationships between the Structural Characteristics of General Medical Practices and the Socioeconomic Status of Patients with Diabetes-Related Performance Indicators in Primary Care

by Undraa Jargalsaikhan, Feras Kasabji, Ferenc Vincze, Anita Pálinkás, László Kőrösi and János Sándor

Healthcare 2024, 12(7), 704; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare12070704 - 22 Mar 2024

Viewed by 573

Abstract

The implementation of monitoring for general medical practice (GMP) can contribute to improving the quality of diabetes mellitus (DM) care. Our study aimed to describe the associations of DM care performance indicators with the structural characteristics of GMPs and the socioeconomic status (SES) of patients. Using data from 2018 covering the whole country, GMP-specific indicators standardized by patient age, sex, and eligibility for exemption certificates were computed for adults. Linear regression models were applied to evaluate the relationships between GMP-specific parameters (list size, residence type, geographical location, general practitioner (GP) vacancy and their age) and patient SES (education, employment, proportion of Roma adults, housing density) and DM care indicators. Patients received 58.64% of the required medical interventions. A lower level of education (hemoglobin A1c test: β = −0.108; ophthalmic examination: β = −0.100; serum creatinine test: β = −0.103; and serum lipid status test: β = −0.108) and large GMP size (hemoglobin A1c test: β = −0.068; ophthalmological examination β = −0.031; serum creatinine measurement β = −0.053; influenza immunization β = −0.040; and serum lipid status test β = −0.068) were associated with poor indicators. A GP age older than 65 years was associated with lower indicators (hemoglobin A1c test: β = −0.082; serum creatinine measurement: β = −0.086; serum lipid status test: β = −0.082; and influenza immunization: β = −0.032). Overall, the GMP-level DM care indicators were significantly influenced by GMP characteristics and patient SES. Therefore, proper diabetes care monitoring for the personal achievements of GPs should involve the application of adjusted performance indicators. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Primary and Community Care: Opportunities and Challenges)

► Show Figures

Figure A1

12 pages, 1481 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Screening for Patients with Visual Acuity Loss in Primary Health Care: A Cross Sectional Study in a Deprived Hungarian Population

by Rahul Naresh Wasnik, Veronika Győri-Dani, Ferenc Vincze, Magor Papp, Anita Pálinkás and János Sándor

Healthcare 2023, 11(13), 1941; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11131941 - 05 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1078

Abstract

Screening for visual acuity loss (VAL) is not applied systematically because of uncertain recommendations based on observations from affordable countries. Our study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of primary health care-based screening. A cross-sectional investigation was carried out among adults who did not wear glasses and did not visit an ophthalmologist in a year (N = 2070). The risk factor role of sociodemographic factors and the cardiometabolic status for hidden VAL was determined by multivariable linear regression models. The prevalence of unknown VAL of at least 0.5 was 3.7% and 9.1% in adults and in the above-65 population. Female sex (b = 1.27, 95% CI: 0.35; 2.18), age (b = 0.15, 0.12; 0.19), and Roma ethnicity (b = 2.60, 95% CI: 1.22; 3.97) were significant risk factors. Higher than primary school (b_{secondaryschoolwithoutgraduation} = −2.06, 95% CI: −3.64; −0.47; and b_{secondaryschoolwithgraduation} = −2.08, 95% CI: −3.65; −0.51), employment (b = −1.33, 95% CI: −2.25; 0.40), and properly treated diabetes mellitus (b = −2.84, 95% CI: −5.08; −0.60) were protective factors. Above 65 years, female sex (b = 3.85, 95% CI: 0.50; 7.20), age (b = 0.39, 95% CI: 0.10; 0.67), Roma ethnicity (b = 24.79, 95% CI: 13.83; 35.76), and untreated diabetes (b = 7.30, 95% CI: 1.29; 13.31) were associated with VAL. Considering the huge differences between the health care and the population’s social status of the recommendation-establishing countries and Hungary which represent non-high-income countries, the uncertain recommendation of VAL screening should not discourage general practitioners from organizing population-based screening for VAL in non-affordable populations. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Primary and Community Care: Opportunities and Challenges)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

13 pages, 591 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Prevalence of Respiratory Infections during the 2018–2020 Period in the Paediatric Population of Primary Care Centres in Central Catalonia

by María José Macías Reyes, Josep Vidal-Alaball, Eduardo Alejandro Suwezda, Queralt Miró Catalina, Maria Homs and Anna Ruiz-Comellas

Healthcare 2023, 11(9), 1252; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11091252 - 27 Apr 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1140

Abstract

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, policies such as social distancing, hand washing, and the use of masks were implemented, which could play an important role in the reduction of infectious diseases. An observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted to observe the prevalence of respiratory infections in children under 15 years of age during the 2018–2020 period in Primary Care centres in Central Catalonia. In 2020, there was a 44.3% decrease in total consultations for respiratory infections compared to 2019. All respiratory infections exhibited a significant decrease except flu-like syndrome; children between the ages of 6 and 12 had the highest prevalence of flu-like syndrome (87.6%), and the SARS-CoV-2-19 infection was most frequent (4%) among those between the ages of 12 and 15. Compared to urban centres, rural centres presented a higher prevalence of all infections except flu-like syndrome and SARS-CoV-2. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic caused a significant decrease in the number of consultations for respiratory infections in the paediatric population, except for flu-like syndrome, which increased in cases in January, February, and March 2020. No differences were found between sexes, although differences were found in the distribution of the different age groups. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Primary and Community Care: Opportunities and Challenges)

► Show Figures

Figure 1

Review

Jump to: Research

19 pages, 1007 KiB

Open AccessReview

Neuropsychology of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Clinical Setting: A Systematic Evaluation

by Evgenia Gkintoni and Paula Suárez Ortiz

Healthcare 2023, 11(17), 2446; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11172446 - 31 Aug 2023

Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3277

Abstract

This research paper provides a systematic review of the neuropsychology of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), examining relevant articles’ methodologies and subject matter and highlighting key findings. It suggests potential cognitive deficits in GAD patients, such as subtle attention, executive function, and working memory deficiencies. It also discusses neural correlates of GAD, particularly the hyperactivity in the amygdala and insula, and the additional impact of comorbidity with other psychiatric disorders. The paper uses the PRISMA methodology and draws data from the PsycINFO, Scopus, PubMed, and Elsevier databases. Although the reviewed research has contributed to understanding GAD’s cognitive and neural mechanisms, further research is required. Additionally, the paper mentions the clinical neuropsychology of GAD, including strategies and treatments, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), mindfulness, and medication. Lastly, the review identifies the limitations of the existing research and recommends future directions to enhance the understanding of GAD’s underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms. The neural underpinnings of GAD encompass heightened activity within the amygdala and insula, which are brain regions implicated in processing adverse emotional reactions. Co-occurring psychiatric disorders, such as major depressive disorder (MDD), can also impact neuropsychological functioning. Additional investigation is warranted to better understand the intricate interplay between GAD, cognitive performance, and underlying neural processes. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Primary and Community Care: Opportunities and Challenges)

► Show Figures