Dear HIFA colleagues
We are part of the EU-funded RAPIDE research project <https://www.rapideproject.eu/> that focuses on ways to support routine health services during health emergencies, such as COVID-19. Within this project, we are conducting two systematic reviews on a hybrid care approach called 'patient-initiated follow up' (PIFU). In this approach, follow-up contacts with the health services are triggered by the patients themselves, according to their individual needs and symptoms rather than following a fixed schedule set by the health services. The approach is being used in a number of countries for a range of chronic conditions.
These reviews will focus on PIFU effectiveness and stakeholders experiences of PIFU for chronic conditions (e.g non-communicable diseases, mental health conditions, skin conditions).
To help inform these reviews, we would like to hear from all stakeholders involved in PIFU services for chronic conditions. These include healthcare professionals and service managers involved in providing care for chronic conditions and representatives of patient organizations for people living with chronic conditions and their loved ones.
If you have experience of PIFU services and are interested in participating, please share your experience with us by email (elodie.besnier@ntnu.no<mailto:elodie.besnier@ntnu.no>). We have developed some guiding questions (see below, after the signature) to help you reflect on different aspects of your views and experience. You can write to us in the language of your choice. There is no payment for participation, but your participation will be acknowledged in the publication of the review.
Thanks
Elodie Besnier, Binyam Bogale Bungudo, Simon Lewin
Department of Health Sciences in Ålesund
Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences
Norwegian university of science and technology
Guiding questions:
Let's start with some background:
* In what country do you live?
* Are you:
* A representative of patient organizations for people living with chronic conditions and their loved ones?
* A healthcare professional providing healthcare to people living with chronic conditions under PIFU?
* A health manager or support staff in a service implementing PIFU for chronic condition care?
* Other (specify)
* What chronic conditions do you deal with?
Let's move on to your experience and view of PIFU for chronic conditions. Can you please share your experience and views on one or more of the following topics:
Concerns over health inequities and PIFU:
* Are certain population groups living with a chronic condition less likely to be offered PIFU?
* Are certain population groups living with a chronic condition more likely to struggle maintaining a good control of their condition while on PIFU?
* Are certain groups of health professionals more likely to be burdened by the PIFU approach?
* Are there elements of PIFU (design, implementation, scale up) that could address these differences?
Transferability from one setting to another of study findings on the effects and experiences of PIFU programmes:
* Would you be concerned about transferability of PIFU study findings if your health service context was very different to where the study was done (e.g. different country, type of health system, level of care)?
* Would you be concerned about transferability of PIFU study findings if the participants of the study were very different to those in your setting (e.g. had a different health condition; were of different ethnic groups, different age or had different education levels)?
* Would you be concerned about transferability of PIFU study findings if the PIFU services in the study were organized very differently to those in your setting (different type and level of support available to patients, different method of triggering a follow-up appointment)?
* What aspects do you think could impact on transferability of the study findings to health emergency contexts (e.g., the COVID-19 pandemic)?
Designing, implementing, scaling up PIFU:
* In your experience, which components or aspects of PIFU impact on you as an individual?
* In your experience, what makes PIFU work well? Or fail badly?
HIFA profile: Elodie Besnier is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the NTNU, Norway. Professional interest: Use of different types of information in decision-making. elodie.besnier AT ntnu.no