General practice, our patients and our understanding of the disease process are changing all the time. Patients are becoming more aware of their symptoms and the factors that affect disease are also becoming more apparent, such as the role of diet in cancer. The general practitioner’s role is to correctly identify and interpret these symptoms and to reassure or investigate as appropriate. Without research how are we to keep up with this changes?

Coventry University is leading the development of a new online and mobile resource for parents which will support them to make confident infant feeding choices, and support them with sustained breastfeeding and/or safe and responsive bottle feeding.

The general practice (GP) workforce in England is in crisis, reflected in increasing rates of early retirement and intentions to reduce hours of working. This study aimed to investigate underlying factors and how these might be mitigated.

Chronic headache, a headache occurring on 15 or more days per month for at least three months, is a common problem affecting around one in 30 of the population, and is a major cause of pain and disability. There is however currently very little information on the use of non-drug treatments or how to support people to manage their chronic headaches more effectively

Prescribing is an important activity for general practitioners. Patients rely on the medicines that their doctors choose. From a medical perspective, the prescriber should be adequately trained to perform this important clinical task.

This year the local National Institute for Health Research: Clinical Research Network Primary Care team marked International Clinical Trials day in host practices in Coventry and Redditch by celebrating and spreading the message that it is “OK to Ask” about clinical research.

In spring 2014, Coventry University undertook a piece of work for Warwickshire County Council and Coventry City Council aiming to identify differences between two groups of GP practices: those with ‘high’ or ‘lower’ flu vaccination uptake rates.