Discontinuity of care at end of life: a qualitative exploration of OOH end of life care.

Objective: This study aimed to understand the experiences of palliative care patients when accessing or making decisions about out of hours (OOH) services. It also aimed to illuminate barriers and enablers to accessing appropriate and timely care following the introduction of the 2004 New General Medical Services Contract.

Method: Longitudinal prospective qualitative study using semi-structured interviews and telephone interviews over 6 months and analysed for thematic content.

Can sharing stories change practice? A qualitative study of an interprofessional narrative-based palliative care course.

A series of six interprofessional palliative care meetings used narrative, with participants sharing stories from their professional experience in facilitated small groups. The course was attended by doctors, nurses, social workers and emergency care practitioners. The course was evaluated by telephone interview with 19 of the 28 participants.

Parents' difficulties with decisions about childhood immunisation.

Uptake of childhood immunisation fluctuates in the UK. Convenience, access and parents' relationships with professionals influence uptake. This study explores the decision-making by parents about their children's immunisation through focus groups with analysis to identify categories of concern.

"You feel so hopeless": a qualitative study of GP management of acute back pain.

Background: Biopsychosocial management of non-specific back pain in general practice has been problematical, with frequent inappropriate referral for imaging and secondary care interventions and lack of self-confidence in the ability to provide evidence-based care.

Aims: To examine GP attitudes to managing back pain as a biopsychosocial problem in order to inform future educational strategies that may improve practice.

Methods: Twenty-one GPs from separate practices within the Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority area (UK) participated in telephone interviews leading to the development of vignettes to refine the theoretical framework for subsequent focus group interviews about evidence-based back pain management.

Acute psychosis following ingestion of 'Rapture'.

Objectives: To describe a brief psychotic episode associated with ingestion of a dietary supplement containing piperazine.

Methods: A case report was undertaken.

Results: A 20-year-old man developed a brief psychotic episode associated with persecutory delusional beliefs and auditory and visual hallucinations, leading him to commit the offence of arson.