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. 2024 Jan 22;22(1):13.
doi: 10.1186/s12961-023-01100-8.

A novel methodological approach to participant engagement and policy relevance for community-based primary medical care research during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand

Katelyn Barnes  1   2 , Sally Hall Dykgraaf  3 , Kathleen O'Brien  4 , Kirsty Douglas  5   4 , Kyle Eggleton  6 , Nam Bui  6 , Sabrina T Wong  7 , Rebecca S Etz  8 , Felicity Goodyear-Smith  6
Affiliations

A novel methodological approach to participant engagement and policy relevance for community-based primary medical care research during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand

Katelyn Barnes et al. Health Res Policy Syst. .

Abstract

Community-based primary care, such as general practice (GP) or urgent care, serves as the primary point of access to healthcare for most Australians and New Zealanders. Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has created significant and ongoing disruptions to primary care. Traditional research methods have contributed to gaps in understanding the experiences of primary care workers during the pandemic. This paper describes a novel research design and method that intended to capture the evolving impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on primary care workers in Australia and New Zealand. Recurrent, rapid cycle surveys were fielded from May 2020 through December 2021 in Australia, and May 2020 through February 2021 in New Zealand. Rapid survey development, fielding, triangulated analysis and dissemination of results allowed close to real-time communication of relevant issues among general practice workers, researchers and policy-makers. A conceptual model is presented to support longitudinal analysis of primary care worker experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic in Australia and New Zealand, and key learnings from applying this novel method are discussed. This paper will assist future research teams in development and execution of policy-relevant research in times of change and may inform further areas of interest for COVID-19 research in primary care.

Keywords: COVID-19; General practice; Methodology; Primary care.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Total new and repeat participant responses for each Australian and New Zealand survey
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Unique respondents by region of Australia (n = 682) and New Zealand (n = 482)
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Conceptual model for recurrent cross-sectional analysis, depicting icebergs changing due to environmental forces
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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