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 students for their future clinical placements. We hope this module will help develop their skills to identify the social and environmental factors that shape health and what actions could be taken to address them. In their GPCD project they will examine a health problem in their local community, gather information and identify a course of action to improve the health status of the community. 

This module also gives students 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, alcohol and gambling 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. Students may wish to consider the above as a focus for their GPCD project and identify a course of action to improve the health status of the community. 

GP tutor training for this module will take place online on Wednesday 20th November from 1-2pm. It will include details on what to cover at the Monday and Friday tutorial and the assessment.  The session will be recorded and shared for those unable to attend on the day. 

The GPCD module is core teaching and attendance is mandatory. It is a one week module which runs for three consecutive weeks from 6th - 24th January 2025. Students will be allocated to one of these three weeks as per their overall Year 3 timetable. Students will be contacted prior to their placement to inform them of their tutorial groups and the tutorial timings (between 1330-1700 on the Monday and Friday of their GPCD week). Please check the MS Teams group for updates.

GPCD online tutorials for this module will take place on Monday afternoon and Friday afternoon during the first 3 weeks of January (6/10, 13/17, 20/24 Jan). Each week you are teaching, you will have 2 small groups of students (6-7 students per group) for the week. You will be emailed separately with the timing of your tutorial, names and emails of students attending, and a link to the online tutorial. 

This GP tutor guide gives further details for the tutorials on Monday and Friday afternoons, the assessment and marking criteria. 

The introductory lecture will be held in person on the morning of their first day in GPCD. (There will also be a recording available).  It outlines the background of GP community diagnosis and how to conduct a community diagnosis project.  It will include a more detailed recording on the primary care and public health interface and how to use the internet to access public health data to support your project. The lectures can be found on QMplus.

This handbook outlines the learning objectives, timetable, how to conduct a GP community diagnosis project, assessment details and links to the different materials students need to access for this module. Also included is preparatory material which can be completed before the start of their GPCD week. This must be completed prior to the Monday afternoon tutorial on day 1 at the latest. The final assessment will take place during the Friday afternoon tutorial. The presentation of the GPCD project will be assessed during this time and completion of this is mandatory. 

1. Appreciation of the social and environmental determinants of health, health inequalities and health inequities.

2. Use population sources of health data, interviews and observations of a locality to investigate the health and social care needs of a community.

3. Focus on a specific topic to identify major risk factors, including environmental and social factors, that might contribute to unequal health outcomes in a community and suggest actions to address this.

4. Deliver a 5-6 minute presentation to colleagues to discuss their findings. 'Understand/learn how to present findings using elevator style pitch and deliver 5-6 minute presentation to colleagues, adhering to time guidance'.   

The role of the GP tutor in the GPCD module is to help students choose an appropriate project which will help them learn about the social and environmental determinants of health. Some of the students struggle to find an appropriate topic as they have not fully appreciated the meaning of health equity. They will also need guidance in how to gather data in a safe and meaningful way. The data in this project can only be a snapshot and they need to understand the difference between this project and research.

PLEASE READ THE GPCD STUDENT STUDY GUIDE which outlines what the GPCD module is, the student timetable, how to complete the GPCD project, the background reading and references. You may also find it helpful to listen to the GPCD pre-recorded lecture on QMplus which outlines how to conduct a GPCD project.  

We expect GP tutors to be confident in using the PHE fingertips tools – we would advise that you use this tool to look at the data for your practice area. We recommend that GP tutors look at the background reading material in the GPCD student study guide – also for your own interest, CPD and you can even decide to put them in your appraisal.