Results of Completed Studies
| Logo | Study Acronym | Specialty Area | Brief Description |
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BeST | Back Pain | Local researchers compared a group cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) intervention to treat lower back pain. Their study published in the Lancet has revealed that this offers a low cost treatment which effectively reduced pain and disability for at least one year. |
| BETS II | Thyroid dysfunction |
Researchers tested whether thyroxine (T4 ) replacement could improve cognitive functioning in patients aged over 65 with subclinical hypothyroidism. They found that, although the supplementation led over 80% of patients achieving levels in the thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) reference range, there was no improvement in cognitive functioning. The authors do not recommend supplementation in this population if the aim is to improve cognitive function. |
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ESCAPE | Smoking Cessation |
Researchers investigating the impact of a computerised intervention to encourage people to stop smoking have published two papers about recruitment for a questionnaire survey from primary care. They have found that although the return rate was typically 11%, the sample was nationally representative. They also reveal that recruitment rates are highest when all questionnaires were sent out on the same day, and when reminder letters were sent out fairly quickly. They also found that recruitment was lowest in socially deprived areas and when there were a higher percentage of smokers in the practice population. |
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IID2 | Infectious Diseases |
Researchers surveyed over 6,836 patients and 88 GPs to accurately report the prevalence of infectious intestinal diseases (IID) in the community in the UK. The study found that there are 17 million sporadic community cases of infections causing 11million lost working days. The study also revealed that enteric viruses are responsible for the majority of cases, supporting the introduction of vaccines against the rotavirus for children in the UK. |
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PRISM Phase 1 | Infectious Diseases |
Researchers from Phase I of the PRISM study found that the IMI test pack showed the highest sensitivity compared to other rapid antigen detection tests (RADTs) for detecting streptococcus in the throat (95%) with 100% specificity and was still considered by primary care staff and lab technicians to be easy to use. |
| Stroke Survivor Needs Survey | Stroke | A survey of stroke survivors one to five years post stroke revealed that 51% felt all their needs were being met. However, the highest levels of unmet needs were reported by those with communication difficulties or physical difficulties and those who were more socially deprived or from ethnic minority groups. The authors conclude that there is a need to develop interventions targeted at these groups to better meet their needs within primary care. | |
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TXT2STOP | Smoking Cessation | Research published showed that smokers recruited from primary care were twice as likely to have quit at six months if they received mobile phone text messages providing motivational and behaviour change support compared to controls. This simple intervention, requiring little support from primary care practitioners, could substantially improve smoking cessation services. |
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OCOD | Diabetes | Optimum Care of Diabetes: an NIHR, Research for Patient Benefit (RfPB) funded study investigating patient and clinician perspectives on weight management for non-morbidly obese people with type 2 diabetes, specifically on the role of bariatric surgery and willingness to participate in future randomised, controlled trials (RCTs). The study had 2 phases, the first involved qualitative interviews with patients, whilst the second used interview data to develop a patient survey which was mailed out to 1820 non-morbidly obese patients with type 2 diabetes. |
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OPERA | Mental Health | The Department of Health funded OPERA (Older Peoples Exercise in Residential Accommodation) cluster-randomised controlled trial, is to date, one of the largest trials of its kind and tested the hypothesis that a moderate intensity exercise programme would reduce the burden of depressive symptoms in residents of care homes. |
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BPETH | Hypertension |
Blood pressure monitoring in different ethnic groups. This study looks at ethnicity and the differences between clinic and ambulatory blood pressure in individuals with a previous diagnosis of hypertension and without a previous diagnosis of hypertension. |
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Polyclinics | Co-ordinated care | Looking at how general practices, polyclinics and similar organisations make sure that when patients need care from many places (e.g. the GP, hospital, social services, community nursing), that care is well-coordinated and integrated. |
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TASMIN SR | Hypertension | To determine the effect of self-monitoring with self-titration of antihypertensive medication compared with usual care on systolic BP among patients with stroke, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or chronic kidney disease. |
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CCHi | Patient self-management | Co-Creating Health Initiative: a fully integrated programme, which would improve clinicians’ skills in shared decision-making and communication, enhance the self-management ability of people with long term conditions, and improve the effectiveness of health service organisations and their delivery to facilitate a more active role for patients in managing their health and care. |
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PRIMIT | Respiratory | An internet-delivered handwashing intervention to modify influenza-like illness and respiratory infection transmission (PRIMIT): a primary care randomised trial |
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Past BP | Cardiovascular | A randomised controlled trial of different blood pressure targets for people with a history of stroke or transient ischaemic attack (TIA) in primary care |
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START2QUT | Smoking Cessation | Smoking remains the leading cause of ill health and mortality, at an estimated cost to the NHS of about £6 billion. Stop Smoking Services (SSSs) in England offer intensive advice and support to smokers motivated to quit, and smokers attending have a higher chance of succeeding in a quit attempt than if they attempted to quit alone. However the proportion of smokers using the SSS has been less than 5%, and the number is falling each year. In the Start2quit trial we developed an intervention to persuade and motivate more smokers to seek, or accept, help to quit |
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AM v PM | Respiratory | Older adults are less able to produce a protective antibody response to vaccinations. One factor that contributes to this is immune ageing. Would diurnal variations in immune responses extend to the antibody response to vaccination. |
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ESTEEM | Triage | An assessment of the effectiveness and cost consequences of GP-led and nurse-led telephone triage compared with usual care for patients seeking same-day consultations in primary care. |
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DUTY | UTI | To develop algorithms to accurately identify pre-school children in whom urine should be obtained; assess whether or not dipstick urinalysis provides additional diagnostic information; and model algorithm cost-effectiveness |
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OSAC | Respiratory | The majority of UK adults experience at least one lower respiratory tract infection (LRTI, or acute bronchitis) a year. Despite an absence of evidence in this patient group, some GPs prescribe inhaled or oral corticosteroids. OSAC sought to demonstrate ‘proof of concept’ symptomatic effectiveness of a moderate dose of oral corticosteroid for adults without asthma or COPD with acute LRTI. |
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WALKING | Exercise | Perceived behavioural control (PBC) is a consistent predictor of intentions to walk more. A previously successful intervention to promote walking by altering PBC has been adapted for delivery in general practice. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of this intervention on Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) constructs in this context. |
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ICCD | Diabetes | Configuring high quality care for the rapidly increasing number of people with type 2 diabetes (T2D) is a major challenge worldwide for both providers and commissioners. In the UK, about two thirds of people with T2D are managed entirely in primary care, with wide variation in management strategies and achievement of targets. |
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BLISS | Respiratory | The aim of this programme was to recruit a unique UK primary care COPD cohort, as a platform for testing novel health service interventions resulting in patient benefit, both within this proposal and in future outside the programme. The cohort comprised both new and existing cases of COPD |
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RAPID REDUCTION | Smoking Cessation | Quitting smoking abruptly is more likely to lead to lasting abstinence than cutting down first, even for smokers who initially prefer to quit by gradual reduction |
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SCOT | Cardiovascular | Selective cyclooxygenase-2 inhibitors and conventional non-selective non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nsNSAIDs) have been associated with adverse cardiovascular (CV) effects. The CV safety of switching to celecoxib vs. continuing nsNSAID therapy in a European setting was compared. |
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BWeL | Obesity | Obesity is a common cause of non-communicable disease. Guidelines recommend that physicians screen and offer brief advice to motivate weight loss through referral to behavioural weig ht loss programmes. |
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WRAP | Obesity | Evidence exist that primary care referral to an open-group behavioural programme is an effective strategy for management of obesity, but little evidence on optimal intervention duration is available. |
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FAST - 4 FOLD ASTHMA | Respiratory | A pragmatic, unblinded, randomized trial involving adults and adolescents with asthma who were receiving inhaled glucocorticoids, with or without add-on therapy, and who had had at least one exacerbation in the previous 12 months. |
| Child/Parent Familial Hypcholesterolemia | Cardiovascular | A trial looking at child–parent screening for familial hypercholesterolemia, to identify persons at high risk for inherited premature cardiovascular disease. | |
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Families for Health | Obesity | Effective programmes to help children manage their weight are required. Families for Health’ focuses on a parenting approach, designed to help parents develop their parenting skills to support lifestyle change within the family. Families for Health version 1 showed sustained reductions in mean body mass index (BMI) z-score after 2 years in a pilot project. |
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PLEASANT |
Respiratory | Asthma episodes and deaths are known to be seasonal. A number of reports have shown peaks in asthma episodes in school-aged children associated with the return to school following the summer vacation. A fall in prescription collection in the month of August has been observed, and was associated with an increase in the number of unscheduled contacts after the return to school in September |
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POWER+ | Obesity | Behavioural counselling with intensive follow-up for obesity is effective, but in resource-constrained primary care settings briefer approaches are needed. The aim of the study was to estimate the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of an internet-based behavioural intervention with regular face-to-face or remote support in primary care, compared with brief advice. |
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REFER | Cardiovascular | The aim of the REFER study was to investigate whether or not a clinical decision aid (called the MICE rule), with or without a simple blood test (called NT-proBNP), could improve the accuracy of general practitioner (GP) diagnosis of heart failure in people over the age of 55 years. |
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DAPA | Dementia | The aim of this study was to estimate the effect of a moderate to high intensity aerobic and strength exercise training programme on cognitive impairment and other outcomes in people with mild to moderate dementia. |
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PRIMROSE | Cardiovascular | The study looked at a new intervention to reduce cardiovascular disease risk factors for people with severe mental illnesses (SMI), and tested this new intervention against routine General Practice care. |