Implementation of NHS Health Checks in general practice: variation in delivery between practices and practitioners.

Unlabelled: Aim To evaluate NHS Health Check implementation in terms of frequency of data recording, advice provided, referrals to community-based lifestyle support services, statin prescribing and new diagnoses, and to assess variation in these aspects between practices and health professionals involved in delivery.

Background: Most NHS Health Checks are delivered by general practices, but little detail is known about the extent of variation in how they are delivered in different practices and by different health professionals.

Methods: This was an observational study conducted in a purposively selected sample of 13 practices in Sefton, North West England.

Views of practice managers and general practitioners on implementing NHS Health Checks.

As part of an evaluation of a contract with general practices to deliver the national NHS Health Checks programme in Sefton, North West England, we surveyed general practitioners (GPs) and practice managers (PMs) in all 55 practices. The contract required practices to identify individuals from their practice registers with potentially high cardiovascular disease risk, and provide annual reviews. Responses were obtained from 43/178 GPs and 40/55 PMs representing 56 and 73% of practices, respectively.

Views and experiences of the NHS Health Check provided by general medical practices: cross-sectional survey in high-risk patients.

Background: Since the NHS Health Check programme was initiated in 2009, no survey has sought patients' views of Checks provided by GP practices and few studies have reported views of the wider public. This study sought the views and experiences of patients with potentially high-cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk.

Methods: Cross-sectional postal survey of all the patients with an actual or estimated CVD risk score of at least 20% over 10 years, registered with 16 general practices in Sefton, North West England, with no follow-up.

Design of a clustered observational study to predict emergency admissions in the elderly: statistical reasoning in clinical practice.

Objective: To describe the statistical design issues and practical considerations that had to be addressed in setting up a clustered observational study of emergency admission to hospital of elderly people.

Study Design And Setting: Clustered observational study (sample survey) of elderly people registered with 18 general practices in Halton Primary Care Trust in the north-west of England.

Results: The statistical design features that warranted particular attention were sample size determination, intra-class correlation, sampling and recruitment, bias and confounding.

Predicting the likelihood of emergency admission to hospital of older people: development and validation of the Emergency Admission Risk Likelihood Index (EARLI).

Objective: To develop and evaluate an evidence-based tool for predicting the likelihood of emergency admission to hospital of older people aged 75 years and over in the UK.

Methods: Prospective cohort study of older people registered with 17 general practices within Halton Primary Care Trust in the north-west of England. A questionnaire with 20 items was sent to older people aged>or=75 years.