Exploring the equity of distribution of general medical services funding allocations in Wales: a time-series analysis.

Background: Good access to quality primary care in high-income countries can improve population health. Access to primary care is however often not equal among socioeconomic groups; our analysis sought to explore whether funding, a determinant of service supply, is equitably distributed among GP practices in Wales.

Aim: We sought to explore the relationship between funding and deprivation among GP practices in Wales, to understand the equity of current funding policies.

Using social media to support small group learning.

Background: Medical curricula are increasingly using small group learning and less didactic lecture-based teaching. This creates new challenges and opportunities in how students are best supported with information technology. We explored how university-supported and external social media could support collaborative small group working on our new undergraduate medical curriculum.

Thou shalt not tweet unprofessionally: an appreciative inquiry into the professional use of social media.

Background: Social media may blur the line between socialisation and professional use. Traditional views on medical professionalism focus on limiting motives and behaviours to avoid situations that may compromise care. It is not surprising that social media are perceived as a threat to professionalism.

Blended learning in health education: three case studies.

Blended learning in which online education is combined with face-to-face education is especially useful for (future) health care professionals who need to keep up-to-date. Blended learning can make learning more efficient, for instance by removing barriers of time and distance. In the past distance-based learning activities have often been associated with traditional delivery-based methods, individual learning and limited contact.

Evaluation of a service development to increase detection of urinary tract infections in children.

Rationale, Aims And Objectives: It is suspected that childhood urinary tract infection (UTI) remains under-diagnosed in primary care, and is consequently the cause of subsequent morbidity from renal scarring, hypertension and eventual renal failure. Practice-based education and service developments were undertaken to try to improve the detection of childhood UTI.

Methods: A controlled before-and-after intervention study was conducted.