Publications by authors named "N A Zwar"
Background The study aimed to understand the acceptability, satisfaction, uptake, utility and feasibility of a quality improvement (QI) intervention to improve care for coronary heart disease (CHD) patients in Australian primary care practices and identify barriers and enablers, including the impact of COVID-19. Methods Within the QUality improvement for Effectiveness of care for people Living with heart disease (QUEL) study, 26 Australian primary care practices, supported by five Primary Health Networks (PHN) participated in a 1-year QI intervention (November 2019 - November 2020). Data were collected from practices and PHNs staff via surveys and semi-structured interviews.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Relational continuity is a fundamental component of primary care. The 'Quality in General Practice Trial' (EQuIP-GP), was a 12-month cluster randomized trial, designed to investigate whether financial incentives can improve relational continuity in primary care.
Aim: To examine (i) how financial incentives are perceived and experienced by primary care patients, providers, and practice staff, and (ii) how clinical and organizational routines related to relational continuity are influenced by the introduction of a financial model designed to incentivize relational continuity.
Article Synopsis
- Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is effective for COPD patients but isn't used as much as it should be; home-based PR (HBPR) could help increase its usage but needs more research on how well it follows treatment protocols.
- This study analyzed data from a randomized clinical trial to assess how closely HBPR follows prescribed exercise protocols and the factors that affect program completion.
- Of 107 participants referred, 70% started HBPR, with most adhering to exercise protocols successfully, and those who engaged early had a significantly higher chance of completing the program and showed improvements in their quality of life.
To explore the perceptions and experiences of general practice nurses, general practitioners, and patients who participated in a nurse-led intervention to improve blood pressure control. Given the impact of hypertension on rates of premature death and disability, it is important that interventions be evaluated to reduce blood pressure. A key component of such evaluation is understanding the experiences of participants and clinicians.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFArticle Synopsis
- There are significant safety concerns about using smoking cessation medications during pregnancy, particularly regarding the risk of congenital malformations, leading to recommendations against certain drugs like varenicline and bupropion, and caution with nicotine replacement therapy (NRT).
- The study aimed to assess how many pregnant individuals were prescribed smoking cessation medications in New South Wales, New Zealand, Norway, and Sweden from 2015 to 2020, particularly during the first trimester.
- Out of over 1.7 million pregnancies studied, a small percentage (up to 11.39%) of pregnant women who smoked used pharmacotherapies, with the highest usage rates for NRT and varenicline in certain regions.*