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Contact Details

Phone
+64 21 261 9996
Email
sharon.leitch@otago.ac.nz
Position
Senior Lecturer
Department
Department of General Practice and Rural Health (Dunedin)
Qualifications
MB ChB DCH PGDipGP PhD FRNZCGP
Research summary
Safe medication use in primary care
Teaching
Co-ordinator of GENA821 Research Methods in Primary Health Care
Memberships
  • Departmental Research Convener
  • Postgraduate Education Committee
Clinical
General Practitioner at Dunedin Health Centre

Research

Sharon is exploring ways of improving patient safety in primary care. This work aims to inform patients about their risk of medication harm, promoting patient self-efficacy and facilitating shared decision-making between patients, their whānau and clinicians.

Sharon is also involved with the establishment of the Southern Primary Care Research Network. She is interested in optimising the use of routinely collected healthcare data in research.

Publications

Gu, J., Ross, J., & Leitch, S. (2023). Patient representation in New Zealand general practice and rural health case-based teaching: A quality improvement exercise. Journal of Primary Health Care. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1071/HC23070

Reith, D. M., Leitch, S., Eggleton, K., Wallis, K., Lillis, S., Williamson, M., & Cunningham, W. (2023). Treatment harms in paediatric primary care. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 20(14), 6378. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20146378

Yogarajan, V., Dobbie, G., Leitch, S., Keegan, T. T., Bensemann, J., Witbrock, M., … Reith, D. (2022). Data and model bias in artificial intelligence for healthcare applications in New Zealand. Frontiers in Computer Science, 4, 1070493. doi: 10.3389/fcomp.2022.1070493

Leitch, S., Dovey, S., Cunningham, W., Wallis, K., Eggleton, K., Lillis, S., McMenamin, A., Williamson, M., Reith, D., Samaranayaka, A., & Tilyard, M. (2021). Epidemiology of healthcare harm in New Zealand general practice: A retrospective records review study. BMJ Open, 11, e048316. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048316

Leitch, S., Zeng, J., Smith, A., & Stokes, T. (2021). Medication risk management and health equity in New Zealand general practice: A retrospective cross-sectional study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20, 119. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01461-y

Gu, J., Ross, J., & Leitch, S. (2023). Patient representation in New Zealand general practice and rural health case-based teaching: A quality improvement exercise. Journal of Primary Health Care. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1071/HC23070

Journal - Research Article

Reith, D. M., Leitch, S., Eggleton, K., Wallis, K., Lillis, S., Williamson, M., & Cunningham, W. (2023). Treatment harms in paediatric primary care. International Journal of Environmental Research & Public Health, 20(14), 6378. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20146378

Journal - Research Article

Yogarajan, V., Dobbie, G., Leitch, S., Keegan, T. T., Bensemann, J., Witbrock, M., … Reith, D. (2022). Data and model bias in artificial intelligence for healthcare applications in New Zealand. Frontiers in Computer Science, 4, 1070493. doi: 10.3389/fcomp.2022.1070493

Journal - Research Article

Barak, Y., Leitch, S., & Glue, P. (2021). The Great Escape: Centenarians' exceptional health. Aging Clinical & Experimental Research, 33(3), 513-520. doi: 10.1007/s40520-020-01552-w

Journal - Research Article

Leitch, S., Dovey, S. M., Cunningham, W. K., Smith, A. J., Zeng, J., Reith, D. M., … Williamson, M. I., & Lillis, S. (2021). Medication-related harm in New Zealand general practice: A retrospective records review. British Journal of General Practice, e626-e633. doi: 10.3399/bjgp.2020.1126

Journal - Research Article

Leitch, S., Dovey, S., Cunningham, W., Wallis, K., Eggleton, K., Lillis, S., McMenamin, A., Williamson, M., Reith, D., Samaranayaka, A., & Tilyard, M. (2021). Epidemiology of healthcare harm in New Zealand general practice: A retrospective records review study. BMJ Open, 11, e048316. doi: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-048316

Journal - Research Article

Leitch, S., Smith, A., Crengle, S., & Stokes, T. (2021). The views of New Zealand general practitioners and patients on a proposed risk assessment and communication tool: A qualitative study using Normalisation Process Theory. Implementation Science Communications, 2, 16. doi: 10.1186/s43058-021-00120-1

Journal - Research Article

Leitch, S., Zeng, J., Smith, A., & Stokes, T. (2021). Medication risk management and health equity in New Zealand general practice: A retrospective cross-sectional study. International Journal for Equity in Health, 20, 119. doi: 10.1186/s12939-021-01461-y

Journal - Research Article

Barak, Y., Leitch, S., & Greco, P. (2019). Identifying hoarding disorder in the elderly using the interRAI. Archives of Gerontology & Geriatrics, 80, 95-97. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2018.10.014

Journal - Research Article

Young, A., Tordoff, J., Leitch, S., & Smith, A. (2019). Patient-focused medicines information: General practitioners’ and pharmacists’ views on websites and leaflets. Health Education Journal, 78(3), 340-351. doi: 10.1177/0017896918811373

Journal - Research Article

Leitch, S., Dovey, S. M., Samaranayaka, A., Reith, D. M., Wallis, K. A., Eggleton, K. S., … Williamson, M. I., … Tilyard, M. W. (2018). Characteristics of a stratified random sample of New Zealand general practices. Journal of Primary Health Care, 10(2), 114-124. doi: 10.1071/HC17089

Journal - Research Article

Leitch, S., Glue, P., Gray, A. R., Greco, P., & Barak, Y. (2018). Comparison of psychosocial variables associated with loneliness in centenarian vs elderly populations in New Zealand. JAMA Network Open, 1(6), e183880. doi: 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.3880

Journal - Research Article

Wallis, K. A., Eggleton, K. S., Dovey, S. M., Leitch, S., Cunningham, W. K., & Williamson, M. I. (2018). Research using electronic health records: Balancing confidentiality and public good. Journal of Primary Health Care, 10(4), 288-291. doi: 10.1071/HC18040

Journal - Research Article

Young, A., Tordoff, J., Leitch, S., & Smith, A. (2018). Do health professionals tell patients what they want to know about their medicines? Health Education Journal, 77(7), 762-777. doi: 10.1177/0017896918763679

Journal - Research Article

Young, A., Tordoff, J., Leitch, S., & Smith, A. (2018). Doctors and pharmacists provision and opinions of medicines information leaflets in New Zealand. International Journal of Clinical Pharmacy, 40(3), 676-685. doi: 10.1007/s11096-018-0635-7

Journal - Research Article

Lawless, S., White, P., Murdoch, P., & Leitch, S. (2011). (Preventing) two birds with one stone: Improving vitamin D levels in the elderly. Journal of Primary Health Care, 3(2), 150-152.

Journal - Research Article

Leitch, S., & Dovey, S. (2010). Review of registration requirements for new part-time doctors in New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Ireland and Canada. Journal of Primary Health Care, 2(4), 273-280.

Journal - Research Article

Jones, D. G., & Sagee, S. (2001). Xenotransplantation: Hope or delusion? Biologist, 48(3), 129-132.

Journal - Research Article

Leitch, S., Smith, A., Zeng, J., & Stokes, T. (2021). Using an information package to reduce patients' risk of renal damage: Protocol for a randomized feasibility trial. JMIR Research Protocols, 10(4), e29161. doi: 10.2196/29161

Journal - Research Other

Barak, Y., Leitch, S., Greco, P., & Glue, P. (2020). Fatigue, sleep and depression: An exploratory interRAI study of older adults [Short communication]. Psychiatry Research, 284, 112772. doi: 10.1016/j.psychres.2020.112772

Journal - Research Other

Barak, Y., Leitch, S., Gale, C., & Glue, P. (2019). No seasonal influence on cognitive performance in a national sample of older adults in New Zealand [Brief report]. Australasian Journal on Ageing, 29, e201-e204. doi: 10.1111/ajag.12733

Journal - Research Other

Dovey, S. M., Leitch, S., Wallis, K. A., Eggleton, K. S., Cunningham, W. K., Williamson, M. I., … Tilyard, M. W., Reith, D. M., Samaranayaka, A., & Hall, J. E. (2017). Epidemiology of patient harms in New Zealand: Protocol of a general practice records review study. JMIR Research Protocols, 6(1), e10. doi: 10.2196/resprot.6696

Journal - Research Other

Dovey, S. M., & Leitch, S. (2016). Triggering safer general practice care. BMJ Quality & Safety, 26(4), 259-260. doi: 10.1136/bmjqs-2016-005660

Journal - Research Other

Leitch, S. (2016). New Zealand needs a Practice Based Research Network. Journal of Primary Health Care, 8(1), 9-12. doi: 10.1071/HC15045

Journal - Research Other

Leitch, S. (2015). General practitioners should allow use of anonymised patient records for research: The 'yes' case. Journal of Primary Health Care, 7(3), 251-253. [Commentary].

Journal - Research Other

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