Critical Reading for Primary Care

This is the first book to provide guidance for a critical approach to the family practice literature. Selected published papers are reviewed by acknowledged authorities in a series of critical essays, to which the authors respond. The ways in which the reader can approach and evaluate a variety of research methodologies and topics is demonstrated clearly. The articles in the book use diverse methodologies including qualitative and quantitative research methods, in-depth interviews, descriptive surveys, analytical studies, randomized controlled trials and cohort studies, including many aspects of patient care.

List of contributors

1. Critical reading for primary care

(5)

Ann-Louise Kinmonth

Roger Jones

2. Approaching the literature

(13)

David Jewell

George Freeman

3. The potential of qualitative research in primary care Morgan, M. and Watkins, C. J. (1988). Managing hypertension: beliefs and responses to medication among cultural groups. Sociology of Health and Illness, 10, 561-78.

(23)

Elizabeth Murphy

4. Fitting the method to the question; the quantitative or qualitative approach? Wallace, P. G. and Haines, A. P. (1984). General practitioners and health promotion: what patients think. British Medical Journel, 289, 534-6.

(17)

Roisin Pill

5. Description and experiment in a single practice Thomas, K. B. (1974). Temporarily dependent patient in general practice. British Medical Journal, 1, 625-6. Thomas, K. B. (1978). The Consultation and the therapeutic illusion. British Medical Journal 1, 1327-8.

(16)

John Bain

6. Measuring quality of care: do good GPs give their patients more time? Howie, J. G. R., Porter, M. D., Heaney, D. J., and Hopton, J. L. (1991). Long to short consultation ratio: a proxy measure of quality of care for general practice. British Journal of General Practice, 41, 48-54.

(24)

Martin Roland

7. Exploring out-of-hours demands: a case-control study Morrison, J. M., Gilmour, H., and Sullivan, F. (1991). Children seen frequently out of hours in one general practice. British Medical Journal, 303, 1111-4.

(16)

Penny Owen

Clare Wilkinson

Paul Kinnersley

8. Multi-practice research: a cohort study Royal College of General Practitioners Oral Contraception Study (1984). Further analysis of mortality in oral contraceptive users. Lancet, 1, 541-6.

115

(31)

Andrew Haines

9. Multi-practice research: a randomized controlled trial Medical Research Council Working Party (1985). MRC Trial of treatment of mild hypertension: principal results. British Medical Journal, 291, 97-104.

146

(37)

Bonnie Sibbald

10. Testing a test: three critical steps Dobbs, F. F. and Fleming, D. M. (1987). A simple scoring system for evaluating symptoms, history and urine dipstick testing in the diagnosis of urinary tract infection. Journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners, 37, 100-4.

183

(20)

David Mant

11. Measuring quality of life Fletcher, A., McLoone, P., and Bulpitt, C. (1988). Quality of life on angina therapy: a randomised controlled trial of transdermal glyceryl trinitrate against placebo. Lancet, 2, 4-7.

203

(17)

Angela Coulter

Glossary of terms

220

(11)