International sore throat guidelines and international medical graduates: a mixed methods systematic review

AIM: To examine national and international guidelines on sore throat management and subsequently, to explore the phenomenon of international medical graduates working in general and rural practice in New Zealand. METHOD: Two separate systematic reviews were conducted that resulted in a contingent methodology. Contingent methodologies involve syntheses of data that are derived sequentially. The initial review for this study examined international sore throat guidelines and their key points. The results of this initial review resulted in the theory that international medical graduates may be unaware of the New Zealand specific sore throat guidelines and the problem of acute rheumatic fever in this country. The subsequent review examined the phenomenon of international medical graduates working in general or rural practice in New Zealand. Data sources were Medline, Google Scholar, Trip Database, and NHS Evidence, Embase and Scopus. Electronic databases were searched for relevant data published -January 2000-December 2013. Additional hand searches found key references from articles and websites. RESULTS: International guidelines for the management of sore throats differ from New Zealand guidelines. Of resource rich countries, New Zealand has the second highest number of international medical graduates: they may not use New Zealand specific sore throat guidelines. DISCUSSION: Acute rheumatic fever is virtually eradicated in most resource rich countries. Rheumatic fever rates of among indigenous Maori and Pacifika people in New Zealand have failed to reduce over the last three decades. Knowledge and actions of international medical graduates in relation to sore throat management needs investigating.