Today, we’re speaking to Dr Stephen Gibbons, Consultant Clinical Biochemist at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, and Dr Clare Spencer, GP Partner and Menopause Specialist at the Meanwood Group Practice in Leeds.

Title of paper: Optimising testosterone therapy in patients with hypoactive sexual desire disorder

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp25X741321

Today, we’re going to do something a bit different and take a look back at the recent BJGP Research Conference, which was held on the 21st of March 2025 in Manchester. I’m going to discuss some of the highlights and really focus on what the conference is about and how to get involved in the future.

Here are some of the links I discussed in the podcast:

Links

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1609406918797475

https://bjgplife.com/write-for-bjgp-life/

Today, we’re speaking to Dr Louise Clarke, a GP and researcher based at the University of Nottingham.

Title of paper: Barriers to diagnosing and treating vulval lichen sclerosus: a survey study

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0360

Previous research has identified a significant diagnostic delay and misdiagnosis of vulval lichen sclerosus (VLS), a condition most commonly presenting to primary care. Health care professionals (HCPs) in primary care share the concerns of women with VLS citing frequent misdiagnosis, embarrassment and lack of knowledge as barriers to diagnosis. In this survey, 92.6% of HCPs felt further education would be useful with 37.7% never having participated in learning on vulval skin disease, self-directed or otherwise. Key enablers identified to facilitate timely VLS diagnosis and treatment include: a comprehensive education programme for HCPs, implementation of standardised pathways of care and development of a VLS diagnostic criteria to be implemented in primary care workflow.

Today, we’re speaking to Dr Victoria Tzortziou Brown, a GP and Reader in Primary Healthcare and Health Policy at Queen Mary University of London, and Vice Chair for External Affairs at the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Title of paper: Language of primary medical qualification and differential MRCGP exam attainment: an observational study

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0296

To the authors’ knowledge, this is the first study on the association between the language of the primary medical qualification and attainment in the Membership of the Royal College of General Practitioners (MRCGP) examination. It shows that undertaking undergraduate clinical training in a country where the native language is not English can statistically significantly and negatively affect examination performance in MRCGP exams. The study also shows statistically significant positive correlations between Multi- Specialty Recruitment Assessment, International English Language Testing System, and Professional and Linguistic Assessments Board scores and the MRCGP exam scores; this suggests that past performance in these assessments can help with the identification of those international medical graduate registrars who may find tailored support beneficial. 

Today, we’re speaking to Professor Helen Atherton, Professor of Primary Care Research at the University of Southampton.

Title of paper: Supporting patients to use online services in general practice: focused ethnographic case study

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0137

Use of, and access to, online services are increasing within general practice in England. Current approaches to digital facilitation as observed in this study, appeared to be ad hoc and fitted around multiple services. Reception staff were key to supporting patients to use these platforms, but training, resources and support for such staff were not readily available. Enabling patients to have the best chance of using online services requires vision, strategy and investment of time and money. As practices and patients increasingly use online approaches to healthcare provision, practices should be mindful of patient groups who may find accessing services online to be a challenge and who thus require targeted help and support.

Today, we’re speaking to Dr Sam Merriel, a GP, and NIHR Academic Clinical Lecturer in General Practice based at the University of Manchester.

Title of paper: Factors affecting prostate cancer detection through asymptomatic PSA testing in primary care in England: Evidence from the 2018 National Cancer Diagnosis Audit

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0376

Asymptomatic, informed choice prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing occurs in primary care in the UK in the absence of a national prostate cancer screening programme. This study shows that four fifths of prostate cancers are diagnosed following symptomatic presentation rather than from asymptomatic PSA testing. There is a 13-fold variation in asymptomatic PSA test detected prostate cancer between English GP practices, without clear explanatory practice-level factors. Patient factors amongst men diagnosed with prostate cancer, including ethnicity, age, deprivation, and multi-morbidity, have a significant impact on the likelihood of being diagnosed following asymptomatic PSA testing.

Today, we’re speaking to Dr Pete Edwards, a GP and NIHR Research Fellow based at the University of Bristol. Pete has published a research article in the February issue of the BJGP titled,’ Safety-netting advice documentation in out-of-hours primary care: a retrospective cohort from 2013 to 2020’ along with an editorial about safety netting that we’re going to discuss today.

Title of paper: Safety-netting advice documentation in out-of-hours primary care: a retrospective cohort from 2013 to 2020

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0057

Title of editorial: Safety netting in primary care : managing the low incidence, high uncertainty of severe illness

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/bjgp25X740529

Previous research has reported on safety-netting advice (SNA) documented in patient records during in-hours practice but this, to the authors’ knowledge, is the first large-scale (>1000 consultations) longitudinal analysis of the type of safety-netting documented advice during out-of-hours (OOH) primary care. This study demonstrated an increasing frequency of documented SNA in OOH records and increasing utility of specific advice over time. In contrast to previous reports of verbalised safety-netting during in-hours practice, this study found a higher frequency of SNA in records from face-to-face compared with telephone encounters. This study also showed safety-netting advice was more likely to be documented for patients with possible infections, but less frequently for mental health consultations. That is a possible area for improvement, in line with current UK policy for ‘parity of esteem’ between physical and mental health conditions.

Today, we’re speaking to Professor Anne Slowther, Emeritus Professor of Clinical Ethics based at the University of Warwick.

Title of paper: Experiences of using the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) in English general practice: a qualitative study among key primary health and social care professionals, patients, and their relatives

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0248

The Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) is a specific model of emergency care treatment planning now used in primary care and hospitals, and in many areas of the UK. It has been evaluated in hospital settings, but little is known about how it is understood and operationalised in general practice. Our research found a consensus that ReSPECT could facilitate a person-centred approach to future treatment decision making, but there are specific challenges in implementing ReSPECT in a community setting. A revised approach needs to consider uncertainty of illness trajectories over time and to emphasise patient values to facilitate decision making in an emergency.

In this episode, we talk to Professor Paul Little, Professor in Primary Care Research at the University of Southampton.

Title of paper: A randomised controlled trial of a digital intervention (Renewed) to support symptom management, wellbeing and quality of life in cancer survivors

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0262

There are increasing numbers of cancer survivors who have finished their primary treatment whose quality of life remains consistently poor over years. There is limited robust evidence for pragmatic, brief interventions to support cancer survivors in primary care - which is where most participants are managed, and where resources are increasingly stretched. Cancer survivors quality of life improved with detailed generic online support. Robustly developed bespoke digital support provided limited additional benefit for cancer survivors in the short term, but modest additional longer term benefit in enabling symptom management and self-rated health, and with significantly reduced costs to the health service.

It’s that time of the year again! This episode, we have a round table discussion with the editorial team of Sam Merriel, Tom Round and Nada Khan. This collection of the BJGP’s top 10 research most read and published in 2024 brings together high-profile primary care research and clinical innovation.

And here are the top 10 most read papers of 2024:

10. Patient experiences of an online consultation system: a qualitative study in English primary care post-COVID-19

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0076

9. Does shortage of GPs matter? A cross-sectional study of practice population life expectancy

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0195

8. Primary care provision for young people with ADHD: a multi-perspective qualitative study

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0626

7. Breast cancer risk assessment for prescription of Menopausal Hormone Therapy in women who have a family history of breast cancer

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0327

6. Training needs for staff providing remote services in general practice: a mixed-methods study

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0251

5. Long-term cardiovascular risks and the impact of statin treatment on socioeconomic inequalities: a microsimulation model

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0198

4. Exploring GPs views on beta-blocker prescribing for people with anxiety disorders: a qualitative study

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2024.0091

3. Optimising the use of the prostate- specific antigen blood test in asymptomatic men for early prostate cancer detection in primary care: report from a UK clinical consensus

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0586

2. First Contact Physiotherapy: An evaluation of clinical effectiveness and costs

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0560

1. Risk of Parkinsons disease in people with New Onset Anxiety over 50 years - Incidence and Associated Features

Available at: https://doi.org/10.3399/BJGP.2023.0423