RT Journal Article SR Electronic T1 Barriers to postpartum diabetes screening: a qualitative synthesis of clinicians’ views JF British Journal of General Practice JO Br J Gen Pract FD British Journal of General Practice SP e473 OP e482 DO 10.3399/BJGP.2020.0928 VO 71 IS 707 A1 Georgina E Lithgow A1 Jasper Rossi A1 Simon J Griffin A1 Juliet A Usher-Smith A1 Rebecca A Dennison YR 2021 UL http://bjgp.org/content/71/707/e473.abstract AB Background Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an important risk factor for developing type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) later in life. Postpartum screening provides an opportunity for early detection and management of T2DM, but uptake is poor.Aim To explore barriers to screening from clinicians’ perspectives to guide future interventions to increase uptake of postpartum screening.Design and setting Systematic review and qualitative synthesis.Method Qualitative studies included in a previous review were assessed, and then five electronic databases were searched from January 2013 to May 2019 for qualitative studies reporting clinicians’ perspectives on postpartum glucose screening after GDM. Study quality was assessed against the Critical Appraisal Skills Programmes checklist. Qualitative data from the studies were analysed using thematic synthesis.Results Nine studies were included, containing views from 187 clinicians from both community and hospital care. Three main themes were identified: difficulties in handover between primary and secondary care (ambiguous roles and communication difficulties); short-term focus in clinical consultations (underplaying risk so as not to overwhelm patients and competing priorities); and patient-centric barriers such as time pressures.Conclusion Barriers to diabetes screening were identified at both system and individual levels. At the system level, clarification of responsibility for testing among healthcare professionals and better systems for recall are needed. These could be achieved through registers, improved clinical protocols, and automatic flagging and prompts within electronic medical records. At the individual level, clinicians should be supported to prioritise the importance of screening within consultations and better educational resources made available for women. Making it more convenient for women to attend may also facilitate screening.