| Source of record | UK Trials |
| ISRCTN | ISRCTN94837505 |
| Date ISRCTN assigned | 30/09/2004 |
| Local reference number(s) | N0096067462 |
| Public title | The provision of written information on the management of illness: a cluster randomised trial to examine the impact on primary care services and patient empowerment. |
| Scientific title |
|
| Acronym | N/A |
| Disease/condition/study domain | Not Applicable: Service delivery |
| Study hypothesis | To determine the impact of providing written patient information on the frequency, duration and type of patient contact with the primary healthcare team.
To establish the views of both patient and primary care staff on the implications of providing written information in terms of patient empowerment, the patients' level of self care, and the patients' confidence in deciding when to consult a health professional. |
| Design/methodology | Randomised controlled trial |
| Research ethics review | Not provided at time of registration |
| Countries of trial | United Kingdom |
| Participants - inclusion criteria | The patients to be involved in the study will be randomly selected households from the population of 16,500 patients registered with the Parkbury House Surgery. 800 patients will be invited to participate in each intervention arm, and all occupants of each household will be included (approximately 10% of households.)
Patients under the age of 16 will not be used in the random allocation process, and households in which English is not clearly understood will be excluded as the information to be used in the study is available in English only. |
| Participants - exclusion criteria | Not provided at time of registration |
| Patient information material |
|
| Anticipated start date | 01/04/1998 |
| Anticipated end date | 31/12/2003 |
| Status of trial | Completed |
| Target number of participants | Not provided at time of registration |
| Interventions | The study is a cluster randomised trial. Patients will be allocated to one of the intervention arms or the control arm of the trial by the relevant health professional according to the contents of a prepared unmarked envelope.
Patients in the intervention arms will receive a book describing how to best manage by self care or by contact with a health professional a wide range of common illnesses. Information on supplementary sources of health information will also be available. Those in the control group will receive usual care which may include information or other sources of health information. |
| Primary outcome measure(s) | The primary outcome measures will be the number of contacts (consultations and telephone calls) between the patient and the primary health care team over a one year period. The length of consultation will be logged using data from the computerised appointment system.
Semi-structured interviews mine the usefulness of the self care book from both patient and practice perspectives. |
| Secondary outcome measure(s) | Not provided at time of registration |
| Sources of funding | HertNet/CRIPACC |
| Sponsor name | Record Provided by the NHSTCT Register - 2004 Update - Department of Health (UK) |
| Sponsor details | The Department of Health, Richmond House, 79 Whitehall
London
United Kingdom
SW1A 2NL |
| Sponsor telephone | +44 (0)20 7307 2622 |
| Sponsor email | dhmail@doh.gsi.org.uk |
| Sponsor website | http://www.dh.gov.uk/Home/fs/en |
| Contact name | Dr Amanda Platts |
| Contact details | Parkbury House Surgery
St Peters Street
St Albans
United Kingdom
AL1 3HD |
| Contact telephone | +44 (0)1727 851589 |
| Contact fax | +44 (0)1727 854372 |
| Contact email | amanda.platts@gp-e82060.nhs.uk |
| More information | For more up-to-date information please go to the ISRCTN link below. |
| Link to record in ISRCTN Register | ISRCTN94837505 |
| Date last extracted from ISRCTN register | 17/04/2008 |
