A mixed methods study of institutional, organisational, professional, and patient factors

The NHS is committed to reducing the carbon emissions produced from its activities. Research is urgently needed to learn how this can be done. This project will discover how general practice can contribute.

Firstly, we will review current evidence to identify what is already known about the processes, behaviours and activities that support actions to reduce carbon emissions in general practice. We will then survey 500 general practices, with questions aimed at discovering how they currently think about and take actions to respond to climate change. We will then select 12 general practices who will be followed for 9 months or longer while they carry out one or more actions aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

We will collect data on how they plan and take actions, challenges faced and how these were overcome. To understand patients’ views, we will invite 150 at each of the practices to complete a survey and will interview some of them. We will also investigate the costs involved in adopting different ways of cutting carbon emissions, and finally explore the views of key stakeholders (local, regional and national policy, commissioning and primary care) about how general practices can be supported to reduce carbon emissions.

If you work in a general practice in Coventry and Warwickshire ICB, Birmingham and Solihull ICB, or South Yorkshire ICB please consider completing a brief 5-minute online survey. For more information and links to the survey, you can view or download the PDF file below.

Enquiries:
Dr Ana Raquel Nunes

Dates of project:
1 September 2023 – 28 February 2026

Funder:

The GPNET-0 Study has received HRA and Health and Care Research Wales (RCRW) Approval (REC reference: 23/PR/1169)

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Meet the team

Dr Ana Raquel NunesLink opens in a new window (Lead Investigator) Warwick Medical School

Professor Jeremy DaleLink opens in a new window (Joint Lead Investigator) Warwick Medical School

Dr Abi EcclesLink opens in a new window (Co- Investigator) Warwick Medical School

Dr Rachel SpencerLink opens in a new window(Co-Investigator) Warwick Medical School

Dr Helen AthertonLink opens in a new window (Co-Investigator) Warwick Medical School

Dr Frederik DahlmannLink opens in a new window (Co-Investigator) Warwick Business School

Professor Sue JowettLink opens in a new window (Co-Investigator) University of Birmingham

Dr Helen TwohigLink opens in a new window (Co-Investigator) Keele University Medical School

Dr Florence Karaba (Co- Investigator) Warwick Medical School

Ms Olivia Geddes (Co- Investigator) Warwick Medical School

Miss Laura Nelson (Co-Investigator) NHS Coventry and Warwickshire ICB

Mrs Ella Thompson (Co- Investigator) Black Country Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Mr Michael Gregg (PPI Co-Investigator)

Ms Jenny Earle (PPI Co-Investigator)

Mrs Helen McGowan (Research Project Officer) Warwick Medical School

Work packages

• WP1: Systematic Review
• WP2: General Practice
• WP3: Patients
• WP4: Health Economics
• WP5: Stakeholder Analysis
• WP6: Synthesising Findings
• WP7: Dissemination

Mailing list

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Newsletter:

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Study flyer

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