Warwick researchers win prestigious RCGP award for work on diabetes

Researchers from the University of Warwick have won a prestigious award for their work on diabetes.

The paper, entitled Influence of primary care practices on patients' uptake of diabetic retinopathy screening: a qualitative case study, was named Research Paper of the Year in the diabetes category, by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP). The RCGP award recognises an individual or group of researchers who have undertaken and published an exceptional piece of research relating to general practice or primary care.

The study was a collaboration with researchers from Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The research was jointly led by Prof. Peter Scanlon (GHNHSFT) and Prof. Jackie Sturt (Kings College, London, formerly University of Warwick) and supported by Irene Stratton (senior statistician, Gloucestershire) and Dr Antje Lindemeyer (University of Birmingham, formerly University of Warwick).

The team from Warwick included Dr Alison Hipwell (CLAHRC WM at Warwick Business School, formerly of the medical school) who was responsible for the day to day running of the study and led the data-collection, and Warwick Medical School's Dr Roger Gadsby, Dr Paul O'Hare and Nidal al-Athamneh. Dr Hipwell said: "It is a great honour to have our work recognised by the RCGP this year. It has been a great experience to work with such a talented team of researchers from the University of Warwick and Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Diabetic retinopathy is a serious complication of type one and type two diabetes and our research paper highlights the importance of multidisciplinary clinical practice in primary care."

The research looked into why uptake of eye screening can vary from 55 per cent to 95 per cent between practices. The paper looked at the factors contributing to high or low patient uptake of retinopathy screening in both urban and rural settings, including deprived and affluent areas. It found a number of issues including service and staff interaction and perceptions of non-attenders. The paper recommended a range of service-level opportunities to improve screening attendance and more research.