Evidence map›Paper›PMID 10701382›Full record

Trial reportCMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne2000

Effect of preventive home visits by a nurse on the outcomes of frail elderly people in the community: a randomized controlled trial.

D M Dalby, J W Sellors, F D Fraser, C Fraser, C van Ineveld, M Howard

Abstract readClinical TrialComparative StudyRandomized Controlled Trial
PubMed Full text at PMC
In one paragraph

Trial report in CMAJ : Canadian Medical Association journal = journal de l'Association medicale canadienne, 2000. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 14 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 14 pooled it
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 14 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.

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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

D M DalbyHealth Services Delivery Research Unit, Father Sean O'Sullivan Research Centre, St. Joseph's Hospital, Hamilton, Ont.
J W Sellors
F D Fraser
C Fraser
C van Ineveld
M Howard

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundTimely recognition and prevention of health problems among elderly people have been shown to improve their health. In this randomized controlled trial the authors examined the impact of preventive home visits by a nurse compared with usual care on the outcomes of frail elderly people living in the community.

methodsA screening questionnaire identified eligible participants (those aged 70 years or more at risk of sudden deterioration in health). Those randomly assigned to the visiting nurse group were assessed and followed up in their homes for 14 months. The primary outcome measure was the combined rate of deaths and admissions to an institution, and the secondary outcome measure the rate of health services utilization, during the 14 months; these rates were determined through a medical chart audit by a research nurse who was blind to group allocation.

resultsThe questionnaire was mailed to 415 elderly people, of whom 369 (88.9%) responded. Of these, 198 (53.7%) were eligible, and 142 consented to participate and were randomly assigned to either the visiting nurse group (73) or the usual care group (69). The combined rate of deaths and admissions to an institution was 10.0% in the visiting nurse group and 5.8% in the usual care group (p = 0.52). The rate of health services utilization did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Influenza and pneumonia vaccination rates were significantly higher in the visiting nurse group (90.1% and 81.9%) than in the usual care group (53.0% and 0%) (p < 0.001).

interpretationThe trial failed to show any effect of a visiting nurse other than vastly improved vaccination coverage.

Indexed as

Frail ElderlyHome Care ServicesPreventive Health ServicesAgedFemaleFollow-Up StudiesGeriatric AssessmentHealth Services for the AgedHumansInfluenza VaccinesMaleMedical AuditOutcome Assessment, Health CarePatient AdmissionPneumoniaRetrospective StudiesInfluenza VaccinesVaccines

Identifiers

PMID10701382
PMCPMC1231166

What OpenQuestion holds

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Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.