Articles: professional-practice.
-
Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewImproving health professionals' management and the organisation of care for overweight and obese people.
Obesity is increasing throughout the industrialised world. If left unchecked it will have major implications for both population health and costs to health services. Health professionals have a key role to play in tackling the obesity problem, but little is known about how they may be encouraged to work more effectively with overweight and obese people. ⋯ At present, decisions about improving provision of services must be based on the evidence of patient interventions and good clinical judgement. Further research is needed to identify cost effective strategies for improving the management of obesity.
-
Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewAudit and feedback versus alternative strategies: effects on professional practice and health care outcomes.
Audit and feedback has been identified as having the potential to change the practice of health care professionals. ⋯ It is not possible to recommend a complementary intervention to enhance the effectiveness of audit and feedback. Reminders might be more effective than audit and feedback to improve the delivery of some preventive services but the results are not striking. Few trials have investigated the effect of varying different characteristics of the audit and feedback process. Consideration should be given to testing the effects of modifying important characteristics such as the content, source, timing, recipient and format.
-
Cochrane Db Syst Rev · Jan 2000
ReviewOn-site mental health workers in primary care: effects on professional practice.
Mental health problems are common in primary care and mental health workers (MHWs) are increasingly working in this setting. In addition to treating patients, the introduction of on-site MHWs may lead to changes in the clinical behaviour of primary care providers (PCPs). ⋯ This review does not support the hypothesis that adding MHWs to primary care provider organisations in 'replacement' models causes a significant or enduring change in PCP behaviour. 'Consultation-liaison' interventions may cause changes in psychotropic prescribing, but these seem short-term and limited to patients under the direct care of the MHW. Longer-term studies are needed to assess the degree to which demonstrated effects endure over time.