Contacts

Administrators: Francine Cauchi f.cauchi@qmul.ac.uk

Academics: Dr Safiya Virji s.virji@qmul.ac.uk , Dr Vidya Mistry vidya.mistry@qmul.ac.uk

Dr Charmaine Cremona c.cremona@qmul.ac.uk, Dr Patrick Galea p.galea@qmul.ac.uk

Introduction

Welcome to the GP Community Diagnosis (GPCD) module which explores the social and environmental determinants of health.

‘Social determinants of health’ is a term used to describe the social and environmental conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work, and age, which shape and drive health outcomes. Our health can be influenced by our homes, schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods and communities. People’s access to social and economic opportunities, availability of local resources and support, access to clean water, food and air, all influence health.

This teaching follows on from the Year 2 HSPS module and the Year 3 Public Health teaching and prepares you for your future clinical placements. We hope this module will help develop your skills to identify the social and environmental factors that shape health, and what actions could be taken to address them. In your GPCD project you will examine a health problem in a community of your choice, gather information and identify a course of action to improve the health status of the community. The GPCD module is core teaching and attendance is mandatory.

The GPCD module is a 2 week module which runs for 2 consecutive weeks from 27th Feb - 24th March 2023. You will be allocated to 1 of these 2 weeks as per your overall Year 3 timetable. Students will be contacted prior to their placement to inform them of their tutorial groups and the tutorial timings (between 1200-1700 on the Monday and Friday of their GPCD week on MS Teams).

The introductory lecture will be delivered on day 1 of your GPCD week and it outlines the background of GP community diagnosis and how to conduct a community diagnosis project. This lecture will be available before the module begins, and you are advised to watch the lecture in advance.

This handbook outlines the learning objectives, timetable, how to conduct a GP community diagnosis project, assessment details (including links to mandatory modules) and links to the different materials you need to access for this module. Also included is preparatory material which needs to be completed before the start of your GPCD week, that is, it must be completed prior to the Monday afternoon tutorial on day 1. The final assessment will take place on the Friday afternoon tutorial in the second week. The presentation of the GPCD project and e-learning modules will be assessed here and are mandatory to pass this module. You are also expected to complete the nutrition on-line learning on QMPlus (by January 31st 2023) in order to pass the GPCD module.

This module also gives you an opportunity to explore the Core20 Plus 5 population, which includes 20% of the UK population, who are from disadvantaged communities. This is an NHS Improvement initiative to reduce health inequalities at both national and system levels. The five clinical areas that are focused on are Maternity, Severe mental illness (SMI), Chronic respiratory disease, Early cancer diagnosis and Hypertension. Please click on the following for evidence of the five clinical priorities and the supporting document for further information.

Inclusion health groups include ethnic minority communities, coastal communities, people with multi-morbidities, protected characteristic groups, people experiencing homelessness, drug and alcohol dependence, vulnerable migrants, Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities, sex workers, people in contact with the justice system, victims of modern slavery and other socially excluded groups. You may wish to consider the above as a focus for your GPCD project and identify a course of action to improve the health status of the community.