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Background General practice nurses’ (GPNs) in UK primary care have undergone significant role expansion over the past decade, encompassing chronic disease management, independent prescribing, preventive care and patient education. Despite this growth, evidence on patient experiences, satisfaction, and organisational factors supporting these roles remains fragmented. Aim This scoping review synthesises evidence on the roles and responsibilities of practice nurses in primary care, patients’ perspectives on their care and the organisational and leadership factors that support effective practice within multidisciplinary teams. Methods Following the Arksey and O’Malley framework with Levac et al. enhancements and PRISMA-ScR guidelines, we conducted a comprehensive search of major databases and grey literature sources. English-language studies published between 2010 and 2025, including qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods designs, were included if they focused on UK general practice nurses and patient experiences. Data were extracted and synthesised thematically to identify patterns related to nursing roles, patient perceptions, and organisational influences. Results General practice nurses deliver a wide range of clinical services and are highly valued by patients for their accessibility, approachability, and continuity. Patient satisfaction is highest when nurses demonstrate person-centred communication, clinical competence, professional autonomy, and strong therapeutic alliances. Effective integration within primary care teams is supported by formal leadership, structured professional development, role clarity, and organisational infrastructure. Persistent barriers include variability in employment conditions and the lack of standardised leadership pathways. Conclusions General practice nurses are central to delivering high-quality, patient-centred care in the UK. Strengthening formal leadership, enhancing professional development, clarifying roles through supportive policy frameworks and addressing employment variability are essential to maximise their contributions. Investment in these areas will improve patient outcomes, workforce satisfaction and the long-term sustainability of primary care services.

Introduction With an aging population and a growing prevalence of people living with dementia, the demand for best-practice dementia care in general practice increases. There is an opportunity to better utilise the nurse role within the primary care team to meet this increasing demand in the provision of care for people living with dementia. However, general practice nurses have limited knowledge in the provision of best-practice care for people living with dementia and their carer(s). A number of best-practice dementia care recommendations contained in the Australian Clinical Practice Guidelines and Principles of Care for People with Dementia have been identified as highly relevant to the role of the general practice nurse. Aims To explore general practice nurses’ perspectives on published best-practice dementia care recommendations relevant to their role and identify barriers and facilitators to their implementation into clinical practice. Methods Thirteen Australian general practice nurses took part in this qualitative interview study. The research questions for this study were addressed within a paradigmatic framework of social constructionism. Data were transcribed verbatim and thematically analysed. Results There was a high level of agreement between general practice nurses that the recommendations were important, reflected best-practice dementia care and were relevant to their role. However the recommendations were perceived as limited in their usefulness to nurses’ clinical practice due to being too vague and lacking direction. Four main themes were identified describing barriers and facilitators to operationalising best-practice dementia care.: creating a comfortable environment; changing approach to care; optimising the general practice nurse role and working collaboratively. Nine sub-themes were described: physical environment; social environment; complexity of care; care planning for the family; professional role and identity, funding better dementia care, education, networking and resources; different roles, one team; and interagency communication. Conclusion This study identified several factors that need addressing to support general practice nurses to integrate best-practice dementia care recommendations into daily clinical practice. The development of interventions needs to include strategies to mitigate potential barriers and enhance facilitators that they perceive impact on their delivery of best-practice care for people living with dementia and their carer(s). The knowledge gained in this study could be used to develop multi-faceted interventions informed by theoretical implementation change models to enable the general practice nurse to operationalise best-practice dementia care recommendations.

Primary care settings are ideal for initiating advance care planning (ACP) conversations and assessing palliative and supportive care needs. However, time constraints and a lack of confidence to sensitively and efficiently initiate such discussions are noted barriers. The Advance Project implemented a national multicomponent training package to support Australian general practice nurses (GPNs) to work with GPs to initiate ACP and palliative care conversations in their practice. This paper reports on semistructured interviews conducted with 20 GPNs to explore barriers and facilitators to implementing the Advance Project model. Participants identified a range of factors that affected implementation, including lack of time, limited support from colleagues, lack of knowledge about systems and funding processes in general practice and a need for better alignment of the Advance Project resources and practices with general practice information management platforms. Barriers related to professional roles, particularly the lack of clarity and/or limitations in the scope of practice of GPNs, highlighted the importance of defining and supporting the roles that different primary health practice staff could play to support implementation of the model. The findings underline the need for complementary training in the Advance Project model for GPs and practice managers to enable a team-based approach to implementation.

Cervical cancer screening programs in Australia have been developed to detect early precancerous changes in women with a cervix aged between 25 and 74. Yet, many barriers remain to the uptake of cervical screening. Barriers include a lack of culturally appropriate service provision, physical access, poor health literacy, emotional difficulties, socio-economic disadvantage and not having access to a female service provider. In remote and very remote areas of Australia, additional barriers experienced by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander peoples include a distrust of healthcare providers and a lack of services, resulting in a much higher rate of diagnosis and death from cervical cancer. General practice nurses (GPNs) are well placed to conduct cervical screening tests (CSTs) after they have undertaken additional education and practical training. GPNs’ increase in scope of practice is beneficial to general practice as it helps to remove some barriers to cervical screening. In addition, GPNs conducting CSTs reduce GP workload and burnout and increase teamwork. GPNs working in metropolitan clinics have greater access to training facilities, whereas those working in rural and remote clinics are required to travel potentially long distances to complete practical assessments. This highlights the need for training to be made available in rural and remote areas. The aim of this forum paper is therefore to generate further discussion on the need for training programs to be made available in rural and remote areas to aid the upskilling of GPNs.

Background General hospitals in China have been establishing General Practice Departments (GPD). Although General Practice Nurses (GPNs) are an important part of this medical system, their training has not been synchronised. This study explored the working status of nurses in GPDs in general hospitals in Beijing to provide a theoretical basis for the training and development of GPNs in China. Methods We conducted in-depth, individual interviews with outpatient nurses at 19 hospitals in Beijing between March and April 2021. We employed a qualitative analysis to interpret participant narratives and used a codebook thematic analysis to analyse the interview data and extract themes. Results The analysis revealed four themes: (i) a lack of full-time GPNs in GPDs of most tertiary hospitals, (ii) the inability of GPNs to fully express their potential and skills owing to their limited roles, (iii) insufficient standardised patient education provided by nurses in GPDs, and (iv) a lack of systematic and relevant training for nurses working in general practice settings. Conclusions To promote the development of GPNs, GPDs in general hospitals in China should hire full-time GPNs, define their job duties in alignment with their values, and provide standardised training to strengthen their core competencies.

Annual vaccination is effective in reducing the harms associated with seasonal influenza. However, the uptake of influenza vaccine has historically been low in children. This paper reports a descriptive survey that sought to explore the beliefs, attitudes, and knowledge of general practitioners (GPs) and general practice nurses (GPNs) towards influenza vaccination in young children. Both GPs and GPNs working in the Illawarra Shoalhaven Local Health District (ISLHD) in NSW, Australia, were invited via email, fax and social media to participate in the study. A total of 121 participants completed the survey. Most participants had a high level of support and knowledge of influenza immunisation in young children. Barriers to influenza immunisation in young children included perceived hesitancy in parents and competing clinical demands. The participants strongly supported funding of the vaccine, with 90.9% feeling that parents would be less likely to vaccinate their children if the vaccine were no longer free. Both GPs and GPNs differed in the use of influenza vaccination resources. The participants had a positive attitude to influenza immunisation in young children and strongly supported continued funding of the vaccine. Dedicated young children’s influenza vaccination clinics run by general practices or in the community could reduce the impact of competing clinical demands.

BackgroundThe HeLP-GP trial aimed to increase the capacity of practice nurses to deliver weight management to overweight and obese patients through an intervention comprising a health check, a lifestyle app and/or telephone coaching. This paper describes implementation through the lens of organisational readiness with emphasis on the role of the practice nurse.MethodsRoutinely collected mixed method research data including practice surveys, field notes, and diaries and process data were mapped against the domains: motivation to implement, general capacity and intervention-specific capacity.ResultsOrganisational readiness varied considerably, particularly the domain of intervention-specific capacity. Practice nurse turnover negatively impacted the implementation, affecting half of the practices. We observed a general lack of practice-based support for intervention delivery, and varying levels of interest, skill and confidence in delivering the intervention. Nurses struggled to complete the research and intervention tasks in a timely way. Conducting risk assessments and referring to coaching were generally not problematic; however, we noted lower confidence levels with the lifestyle app and instructing patients to use it.ConclusionsWe found a lack of general ‘readiness’ inherent in the nursing role, particularly related to their capacity to complete intervention tasks and practice-level support to implement the intervention. For nurses in general practice to fulfil their potential in supporting patients to reduce risk and adopt healthier life choices, our study indicates that more could be done to improve their workforce positioning and remuneration, which may, in turn, improve continuity of care, retention and individual motivation.

BackgroundChronic conditions are a major health concern. Most Australian men are overweight or obese and half live with at least one chronic health condition. Many chronic conditions are preventable and treatable by reducing lifestyle risk factors. General practice delivers a range of services, including preventive health care; however, men have been noted to have low engagement with general practice. This study aimed to investigate men’s perspectives on preventive health care within general practice.MethodsSeventeen semi-structured interviews were conducted with a purposive sample of Australian men recruited from the NSW Rural Fire Service following an initial survey. Interviews sought to explore men’s perspectives on engagement in preventive health care within general practice. Data were thematically analysed.ResultsTwo sub-themes were identified relating to men’s engagement in preventive health care within general practice. ‘The scope of general practice services’ highlighted diverse understandings among men’s perceptions of the role and value of preventive health care. Whereas ‘addressing lifestyle risk factors’ revealed the nature of communication and advice provided within general practice concerning lifestyle risks and behavioural change. The findings indicated that when advice is provided, men want tangible and meaningful healthcare strategies that support them in making behavioural changes.ConclusionsGeneral practice clinicians need to prioritise preventive health care. Proactively addressing preventive health care with men and supporting them to make informed decisions about their lifestyle choices has the potential to enhance their health and reduce chronic health conditions.

BackgroundPrimary care practitioners worldwide are urged to promote dementia risk reduction as part of preventive care. To facilitate this in Australian primary care, we developed the Umbrella intervention, comprising a waiting room survey and patient information cards for use in consultations. Educational and relational strategies were employed to mitigate implementation barriers.MethodsIn this cross-sectional, non-randomised implementation study within the South East Melbourne Primary Health Network, we employed mixed-methods outcome evaluation. Antecedent outcomes (acceptability, appropriateness, and feasibility) and actual outcomes (adoption, penetration, and fidelity) were assessed from the perspective of primary care practitioners and patients.ResultsFive practices piloted the intervention and implementation strategies, including 16 primary care practitioners engaging with 159 patients. The Umbrella intervention was deemed acceptable, appropriate, and feasible, but penetration was limited. Approximately half of eligible primary care practitioners used the intervention, with moderate fidelity. Engagement with implementation strategies was similarly limited. While most strategies were well-received, improvements in online peer discussions and staff readiness were desired.ConclusionsThe Umbrella intervention is a viable approach to promoting dementia risk reduction in Australian general practice, supported by educational and relational strategies. Stakeholder-informed refinements to enhance uptake are recommended before advancing to a definitive trial.

Abstract The World Health Organization and American Academy of Paediatrics recommend exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with complementary solid foods for up to 2 years and beyond. Despite the well-established importance of breastfeeding, Irish rates remain the lowest in Europe. Healthcare professionals’ breastfeeding knowledge and skills have a positive impact on increasing breastfeeding rates. There is limited evidence of the knowledge, attitudes or practices of general practitioners (GPs) and general practice nurses (GPNs), which is essential to breastfeeding in Ireland. The aim of this study was to evaluate the breastfeeding knowledge, attitudes and practices of GPs and GPNs in one community healthcare organisation (CHO) in Ireland. A co-designed evaluation study was used following low-risk ethical exemption (LS-LR-22-161). A modified version of a validated breastfeeding questionnaire was developed. A Project Steering Committee was established that included patient, and public involvement stakeholders. The anonymised survey was distributed via online Qualtrics platform (November 2022–February 2023). STROBE Guidelines were utilised. The overall response rate was 25.9% (n = 121) and valid responses were reported in the article. The total population size was n = 468 (GPs n = 290 and GPNs n = 178). Our pilot study identified that 42.7% (n = 47/110) of respondents never attended a breastfeeding education programme, and 53.9% (n = 55/102) identified that their knowledge could be improved. The majority of respondents, 92.9% (n = 92/99) wish to complete further education in breastfeeding. The results of this pilot study in one CHO in Ireland indicate a gap in knowledge and a need for specific breastfeeding and lactation theoretical and skills training for GPs and GPNs working in primary care to support, promote and protect breastfeeding.