WONCA News – July 2017
The latest WONCA News (July 2017) is accessible via the WONCA website, with lots of WONCA news, views and events.
Policy Bite: Big data – can we share our own?
A recurrent theme from policymakers and government leads is a request for evidence that training more family doctors adds value to the system and is cost–effective. Barbara Starfield’s work stands us in good stead, but is now over 10 years old and needs updating, especially in countries with more recent investment in services such as Brazil. In this month’s Policy Bite, Professor Amanda Howe and Dr Neil Arya discuss this in more detail, and report on a new opportunity to contribute to the emerging picture.
Dr Arya and colleagues in Canada have created a new webpage on family medicine training and practice worldwide. They have done this as a ‘Wiki’ where we can all upload relevant data: An article about their work “Family medicine around the world: overview by region” was published in the June issue of Canadian Family Physician. Read more on this topic, and to reference the article, via the WONCA website.
Mental Health Matters: Caring for the physical health of patients with severe mental illness (SMI)
There is extensive evidence of the increased mortality and morbidity of people with severe mental illness, mainly due to non-communicable diseases (NCDs). Patients with severe mental illness die over 20 years earlier than they would have done, had they not had a severe mental illness. A task group of the WONCA Working Party for Mental Health, led by Alan Cohen (UK) and Kim Griswold (USA) has developed guidance to enable family doctors to care more effectively for their patients with severe mental illness. These first provide an overview of general principles, followed by fact sheets on diabetes, smoking and respiratory disease, alcohol and substance misuse, and cardiovascular disease. All can be accessed on the WONCA website.
EGPRN launches international web-based course on PHC research
The European General Practice Research Network (EGPRN) officially launched the International Web-based Course on Research in Primary Health Care at the WONCA Europe Conference in Prague. The course is suitable for European family doctors and other healthcare professionals who are interested in research. Further details of the course, and how to register, are on the WONCA website.
WONCA Europe Prague 2017 in photos
The recent WONCA Europe conference in Prague was a lively and fascinating event. Many of the special moments were captured on camera, and the photos – and a video – can be accessed on the WONCA website.
