Putting Prevention into Practice – Developing a theoretical model to help understand the lifestyle risk factor management practices of primary health care clinicians (NHMRC PhD scholarship)

Project Status
Completed

Chief Investigators
Rachel Laws

Rationale

This PhD study used a mixed methods design to develop a theoretical model of the factors influencing the risk factor management practices of PHC clinicians, using data collected as part of the feasibility study of risk factor management in community health. This has provided important insights into strategies to improve such practices both at the service and policy level. The PhD was completed and awarded.

Aim

This study aimed todevelop and describe a theoretical model to explain the lifestyle risk factor management practices of PHC clinicians and to identify critical leverage points for intervention.

Design and Method

The study analysed data collected as part of a larger feasibility project of risk factor management in three community health teams in NSW, Australia, involving 48 PHC providers working outside of general practice. Grounded theory principles were used to inductively develop a model, involving three main stages of analysis: 1) an initial model was developed based on quantitative analysis of clinician survey and audit data, and qualitative analysis of a purposeful sample of participant interviews (n=18) and journal notes; 2) the model was then refined through additional qualitative analysis of participant interviews (n=30) and journal notes; and 3) the usefulness of the model was examined through a mixed methods and case study analysis.

Key Publications

Laws R, Jayasinghe U, Harris M, Williams A, Powell Davies G, Kemp L: Explaining the variation in the management of lifestyle risk factors in primary health care: A multilevel crosssectional study. BMC Public Health 2009, 9:165.

Laws R, Kemp L, Harris M, Powell Davies G, Williams A, Eames-Brown R: An exploration ofhow clinician attitudes and beliefs influence the implementation of lifestyle risk factor management in primary healthcare: A grounded theory study. Implementation Science 2009, 4:66