Hypertension is a major modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular disease, and timely detection enables interventions that can substantially reduce this risk. General practice, with continuity of care (COC) as one of its core values, plays a pivotal role in hypertension detection. This study aimed to investigate the association between COC and the detection of hypertension in general practice.
Longitudinal dynamic cohort study.
This study used routine care data from 48 Dutch general practices between 2013 and 2022.
106 755 adults without known cardiovascular diseases or risk factors at baseline.
The Herfindahl-Hirschman Index, an established measure for COC, was used to calculate both general practitioner (GP)- and team-COC. A multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to assess the association between COC level (low, intermediate, high) and the incidence of hypertension detection.
We included 106 755 patients (59.5% female, median age 35 years) in our analysis. The overall incidence rate was 9.42 hypertension diagnoses per 1000 person-years (95% CI 9.20 to 9.64). Compared with low COC, patients receiving intermediate or high GP-COC had a 1.9 (95% CI 1.7 to 2.1) to 4.9 (95% CI 4.4 to 5.4) higher HR of hypertension detection; patients receiving intermediate or high team-COC had a 2.3 (95% CI 2.2 to 2.5) to 7.3 (95% CI 6.8 to 7.8) higher HR of hypertension detection. High personal continuity was associated with up to 8.3 months (95% CI 8.6 to 7.9) earlier detection of hypertension. The association between COC and hypertension detection was dose-dependent.
This study shows that both GP-COC and team-COC are dose-dependently associated with increased HRs and earlier detection of hypertension in adults without preregistered cardiovascular conditions. Promoting COC contributes to cardiovascular preventive care.
To compare clinical radiography training experiences (structure, resources, participation, feedback) and self-perceived competence/practice readiness between public and private radiography centres in Lagos State, Nigeria.
Comparative cross-sectional survey design from August to October 2025 using a validated self-administered questionnaire distributed in person during departmental seminars and clinical debriefings at University of Lagos-affiliated centres.
Centre-based settings at public and private radiodiagnostic centres.
A total of 260 final-year students and recent graduates, 130 each from public and private radiodiagnostic centres. Inclusion criteria included: age ≥18 years, with ≥6 months clinical exposure, from centres affiliated to the University of Lagos. All participants completed the self-administered questionnaire. There were no interventions.
The primary outcome was the self-perceived competence/practice readiness, and the secondary was participation, extent and feedback mechanisms, measured as planned without protocol deviations. All variables were measured using validated items in the questionnaire.
Private centres significantly outperformed public centres in hands-on practice and feedback, with higher self-perceived competence (mean 35.6±5.7 vs 32.8±6.4; p=0.001). There were no significant differences in training structure (p=0.78). Public centres reported higher patient loads (86.2% vs 68.5%; p=0.001) but lower equipment availability (47.7% vs 72.3%; p
Private centres were associated with higher self-perceived competence and readiness, better resources and feedback, while public centres offered greater patient volumes. Hybrid placements and targeted infrastructure investment are recommended to help address disparities in perceived readiness.
In qualitative research, there are different approaches to defining and engaging with social reality. Epistemology, as the study of knowledge and knowledge creation, influences the methodologies and theories used by researchers. A growing literature questions the universality of Western-centric and Global North research methodologies and theories and highlights their Western epistemological roots. While Western frameworks are appropriate for Western contexts, it is a fallacy to assume that they represent global realities, thereby marginalising Global South knowledge systems. Thus, the aim of this scoping review is to analyse the underlying epistemologies, methodologies or theories that are evident in qualitative research conducted by researchers from the Global North in their research on, for or with people from the Global South.
The review will be conducted using the Joanna Briggs Institute framework for scoping reviews. A search strategy will be developed to identify published and unpublished literature in CINAHL, Embase, Google Scholar, MEDLINE, ProQuest, PsycINFO and Web of Science. All potential papers will be exported to the reference manager Zotero, and the results will be uploaded to Rayyan. Studies are selected using a three-step process and documented using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses flowchart. The abstracted studies will then be collated using the PAGER framework to identify the patterns, advances, gaps, evidence and recommendations that help to understand the review question.
As this is a secondary analysis, our research does not require ethical approval, but we will scrutinise all included studies for inclusion of an ethical approval statement. We intend to share our findings through peer-reviewed international journals and presentations at conferences, as well as collaborating with colleagues in related fields.
The protocol for this scoping review has been registered with the Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/5BUZX).