Frightening smokers into quitting has won a Hertfordshire GP a prestigious Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) award.
After Dr Gary Parkes told 561 patients their true “lung age”, 13.6% (38) stopped overnight compared with 6.4% of a control group who had not been given the bad news.
A subsequent report published in the British Medical Journal in March last year has now won the college’s Research Paper of the Year Award.
This hails high-quality studies that have taken place in a general practice setting, and seeks to encourage more GPs to become active researchers.
Said RCGP president Professor David Haslam: “This award highlights why research in general practice is so important, as this study suggests that we could make a significant dent in that figure and help people to live much longer, healthier lives.”
Dr Parkes received the award from Professor Haslam and Chris Round, boss of Merck Sharp & Dohme, at a dinner in London on Wednesday.
He shares it with co-authors Professor Trisha Greenhalgh of University College London, Mark Griffin of UCL Department of Primary Care and Population Health, and Dr Richard Dent of QEII Hospital in Hertfordshire.
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