2026-10-12T23:11:07Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/33805862 2026-09-15T16:21:56Z category_7 category_12 category_19 category_21 category_106 category_45 category_734 category_122 portal_87 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

Barriers for general practitioners in post-stroke follow-up within a fragmented healthcare system in Sweden – a focus group study Maria Wolf (24945059) Maria Flink (8159709) Axel C. Carlsson (7237613) Mia von Euler (3910174) Jan Hasselström (9199218) Medicine Cell Biology Pharmacology Biotechnology Science Policy Sociology Biological Sciences not elsewhere classified Mental Health Post-stroke follow-up secondary prevention primary care healthcare organisation medication adherence general practitioners <p>Secondary medical prevention after stroke is effective and well evidenced, making long-term follow-up crucial. This follow-up is mainly made by general practitioners (GPs) in Sweden. Low target achievement and up to fourfold practice variation in dispensation of secondary preventive drugs between different primary care units in Region Stockholm has been described. Although several factors in individual practices have been observed to be associated with insufficient target achievements, the underlying reasons for this variation are unclear.</p> <p>To explore the perspectives of GPs concerning secondary preventive practices after stroke to shed light on areas of improvement</p> <p>This qualitative study was based on eight focus group discussions with 49 GPs in Region Stockholm. They were strategically invited in relation to target achievement, and the interviews (45–55 min) were conducted using a semi-structured interview guide. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using qualitative content analysis.</p> <p>There were two themes: “Multifaceted mission in an insufficiently organized healthcare system” and “The complexity of adherence”. There were six categories that encompassed shortcomings in the areas of: sufficient time for the patients, the overarching structure of the healthcare system, the internal structure of follow-ups, medical adherence, the responsibility for renewals of medication and tools for adherence.</p> <p>The perspectives of GPs revealed structural problems at different levels in the health care system as well as difficulties in handling medication adherence indicating a need for improvement. GPs touched on solutions including increasing the number of GPs, education and improved referrals from hospital to primary care.</p> <p></p><p>GPs find post-stroke follow-up difficult because of heavy workload</p><p>The healthcare system does not facilitate standardised follow-up of patients</p><p>Medication adherence remains challenging due to unclear responsibility for the medication list and lack of tools to improve adherence</p><p></p> <p>GPs find post-stroke follow-up difficult because of heavy workload</p> <p>The healthcare system does not facilitate standardised follow-up of patients</p> <p>Medication adherence remains challenging due to unclear responsibility for the medication list and lack of tools to improve adherence</p> 2026-09-15T16:21:56Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.33805862.v1 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/Barriers_for_general_practitioners_in_post-stroke_follow-up_within_a_fragmented_healthcare_system_in_Sweden_a_focus_group_study/33805862 CC BY 4.0