Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2001
Randomised controlled trial of self management leaflets and booklets for minor illness provided by post.
Trial report in BMJ (Clinical research ed.), 2001. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 27 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
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.
Who cites it
27 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 60 citations in OpenAlex.
- Interventions for improving older patients' involvement in primary care episodes.The Cochrane database of systematic reviews · 2007Pooled it
- Video Tutorials to Empower Caregivers of Ill Children and Reduce Health Care Utilization: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- Improving patient self-reporting of antihypertensive adverse drug events in primary care: a stepped wedge cluster randomised trial.BMC family practice · 2021Trial
- Trial
- E-health and consultation rates for respiratory illnesses in infants: a randomised clinical trial in primary care.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2015Trial
- Evaluation of a web-based intervention to reduce antibiotic prescribing for LRTI in six European countries: quantitative process analysis of the GRACE/INTRO randomised controlled trial.Implementation science : IS · 2013Trial
- Evaluation of an interactive program for preventing adverse drug events in primary care: study protocol of the InPAct cluster randomised stepped wedge trial.Implementation science : IS · 2013Trial
- Trial
- Evaluation of a Web-based intervention providing tailored advice for self-management of minor respiratory symptoms: exploratory randomized controlled trial.Journal of medical Internet research · 2010Trial
- Effect of using an interactive booklet about childhood respiratory tract infections in primary care consultations on reconsulting and antibiotic prescribing: a cluster randomised controlled trial.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2009Trial
- The effect of using an interactive booklet on childhood respiratory tract infections in consultations: study protocol for a cluster randomised controlled trial in primary care.BMC family practice · 2008Trial
- Article
- Dr. Me project: Teaching children self-care for self-limiting illnesses in primary schools.Future healthcare journal · 2020Article
- Tendency to contact general practice instead of self-care: a population vignette study.BJGP open · 2020Article
- Article
- Article
- Patients' attitudes towards patient involvement in safety interventions: results of two exploratory studies.Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy · 2013Article
- Antibiotics: time to act.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2013Article
- Predicting complete loss to follow-up after a health-education program: number of absences and face-to-face contact with a researcher.BMC medical research methodology · 2011Article
- Understanding reactions to an internet-delivered health-care intervention: accommodating user preferences for information provision.BMC medical informatics and decision making · 2010Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
9 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectiveTo assess the effectiveness of providing information by post about managing minor illnesses.
designRandomised controlled trial.
settingSix general practices.
participantsRandom sample of 4002 patients from the practice registers.
interventionPatients were randomised to receive one of three kinds of leaflet or booklet endorsed by their general practitioner: control (surgery access times), booklet, or summary card.
main outcome measuresAttendance with the 42 minor illnesses listed in the booklet. Perceived usefulness of leaflets or booklets, confidence in managing illness, and willingness to wait before seeing the doctor.
results238 (6%) patients did not receive the intervention as allocated. Of the remaining 3764 patients, 2965 (79%) had notes available for review after one year. Compared with the control group, fewer patients attended commonly with the minor illnesses in the booklet group (>/=2 consultations a year: odds ratio 0.81, 95% confidence interval 0.67 to 0.99) and the summary card group (0.83; 0.72 to 0.96). Among patients who had attended with respiratory tract infections in the past year there was a reduction in those attending in the booklet group (0.81; 0.62 to 1.07) and summary card group (0.67; 0.51 to 0.89) compared with the control group. The incidence of contacts with minor illness fell slightly compared with the previous year in the booklet (incidence ratio 0.97; 0.84 to 1.13) and summary card groups (0.93; 0.80 to 1.07). More patients in the intervention groups felt greater confidence in managing illness (booklet 32%, card 34%, control 12%, P<0.001), but there was no difference in willingness to wait score (all groups mean=32, P=0.67).
conclusionMost patients find information about minor illness provided by post useful, and it helps their confidence in managing illness. Information may reduce the number attending commonly with minor illness, but the effect on overall contacts is likely to be modest. These data suggest that posting detailed information booklets about minor illness to the general population would have a limited effect.
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What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
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.