RE-CONNECT
Research type
Research Study
Full title
RE-CONNECT – Realist Evaluation of Continuity of Care in General Practice
IRAS ID
345391
Contact name
Nada Khan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Exeter Sponsorship Team
Duration of Study in the UK
0 years, 7 months, 1 days
Research summary
Continuity of care means seeing the same doctor or clinician over time. This helps build trust and understanding between patients and staff. Research shows that this kind of care leads to better outcomes for patients, including fewer hospital admissions, lower death rates, safer prescribing, and more satisfied patients.
Despite these benefits, continuity of care is becoming harder to achieve in UK general practice. Some practices, however, still manage to offer high levels of continuity. We want to understand how and why this works in those settings.
This research uses a method called a realist evaluation. This means we are trying to understand what works, for whom, and in what circumstances to support continuity of care in general practice.
The study has two stages:
Stage 1 involves reviewing research and key documents about continuity of care. We will also speak to our study patient and public engagement group and experts to gather their views. This will help us develop ideas (a theory) about how some practices are able to support continuity.Stage 2 involves testing those ideas in four general practices that currently provide high continuity. A researcher will visit each practice to observe day-to-day work, review relevant policies and protocols, and have informal conversations with team members, including reception, admin, and clinical staff. The researcher will also carry out short interviews with 3–4 staff members at each site to get more in-depth ideas about how continuity of care is facilitated.
We will bring together all of this information to improve our theory. This will help us understand how continuity of care is supported in practice and how other GP surgeries might apply our findings to improve continuity of care for their patients.
REC name
London - Chelsea Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
25/PR/0824
Date of REC Opinion
27 Jun 2025
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion