Trial reportBMJ (Clinical research ed.)2001
Assessment of impact of information booklets on use of healthcare services: randomised controlled trial.
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. It is linked to trial NCT02246361 (Impact of Six Patient Information Leaflets), which is not on this map. Cited by 16 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled 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.
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.
Impact of Six Patient Information Leaflets (PIL) on Doctor Patient Communication and Adherence in Emergency Ward
Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 37 citations in OpenAlex.
- Pooled it
- Referral interventions from primary to specialist care: a systematic review of international evidence.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2014Pooled it
- Video Tutorials to Empower Caregivers of Ill Children and Reduce Health Care Utilization: A Randomized Clinical Trial.JAMA network open · 2023Trial
- 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
- 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
- Parents' Motivations for Calling an Out-of-Hours Helpline: Qualitative Study.Journal of medical Internet research · 2025Article
- Understanding Parents' Experiences and Information Needs on Pediatric Acute Otitis Media: A Qualitative Study.Journal of patient experience · 2019Article
- Article
- User-generated online health content: a survey of Internet users in the United Kingdom.Journal of medical Internet research · 2014Article
- Antibiotics: time to act.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2013Article
- Advice to parents has limited effect--where next?BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2004Article
- Internet resources for psychiatry and neuropsychiatry.Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry · 2003Review
- A qualitative study of patients' perceptions of acute infective conjunctivitis.The British journal of general practice : the journal of the Royal College of General Practitioners · 2003Article
- Written information for treating minor illness. Authors did not consider patients' view of information they received.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2001Article
- Written information for treating minor illness.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2001Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 3 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
objectivesTo investigate the effect of patient information booklets on overall use of health services, on particular types of use, and on possible interactions between use, deprivation category of the area in which respondents live, and age. To investigate the possibility of a differential effect on health service use between two information booklets.
designRandomised controlled trial of two patient information booklets (covering the management and treatment of minor illness).
setting20 general practices in Lothian, Scotland.
participantsRandom sample of patients from the community health index (n=4878) and of those contacting out of hours services (n=4530) in the previous 12 months in each of the study general practices.
interventionBooklets were posted to participants in intervention groups (3288 were sent What Should I Do?; 3127 were sent Health Care Manual). Patients randomised to control group (2993) did not receive a booklet.
main outcome measuresUse of health services audited from patients' general practice notes in 12 months after receipt of booklet.
resultsReceipt of either booklet had no significant effect on health service use compared with a control group. However, nine out of ten matched practices allocated to receive Health Care Manual had reduced consultation rates compared with matched practices allocated to What Should I Do?
conclusionWidespread distribution of information booklets about the management of minor illness is unlikely to reduce demand for health services.
Indexed as
Identifiers
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.