Improving School Vaccinations for Adolescents With Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities: A Person-Centred Approach.

Primary care is the first point of contact with the healthcare system for people across the lifespan. As such, primary care is critical to improving population health and increasing access to services (Department of Health ). Globally, the ageing population and the rising prevalence of chronic conditions are intensifying the demand placed on primary care (Department of Health Disability and Ageing ). This means that the primary care workforce will experience a rising demand for services, further straining a workforce in short supply (World Health Organization ). Recommendations for policy reform have outlined strategies to strengthen and facilitate quality, comprehensive and sustainable primary care services (Department of Health ). This will be achieved by shifting care delivery to focus on health promotion and prevention, multidisciplinary team‐based care, and maintaining a coordinated primary care system (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ; Karam et al. ). Furthermore, there is a need to advocate for the workforce to be engaged effectively to their full scope of practice and shift practice norms to encourage team‐based care (Department of Health ). Primary care is referred to by several terms internationally, including family practice and general practice (Barrett et al. ). In Australian general practice, 92% of General Practitioners (GPs) work with a general practice nurse (GPN), and 88% believe patients would benefit from a GPN's involvement (Royal Australian College of General Practitioners ). While there may be some nuances between countries, a GPN is a qualified nurse who works in general practice. GPNs may have only a generalist nursing education to fulfil nursing accreditation requirements, rather than any specific postgraduate study. In Australia, a GPN is either a diploma‐prepared enrolled nurse or a baccalaureate‐prepared registered nurse. GPNs are pivotal to increasing service access amid GP shortages and rising demand for broad health services in the community (Australian Institute of Health and Welfare ).