Cochrane

The aim of this Cochrane review was to explore how parents experience communication about vaccination for children under six years of age. We searched for and analysed qualitative studies that could answer this question. Qualitative research explores how people perceive and experience the world around them. This review of qualitative research supplements ...

Background Automated telephone communication systems (ATCS) send voice messages and collect health information from people using their telephone's touch-tone keypad or voice recognition software. This could replace or supplement telephone contact between health professionals and patients. There are several types of ATCS: one-way voice messages to ...

Review question We wanted to see if shared decision making was better or worse than usual care in reducing antibiotic prescribing for an acute respiratory infection in primary care. Background Shared decision making enables health decisions to be made jointly by a clinician and patient. The decision making occurs after the options and their benefits ...

Background Goal setting is considered a key part of clinical rehabilitation for adults with disability, such as in rehabilitation following brain injuries, heart or lung diseases, mental health illnesses, or for injuries or illnesses involving bones and muscles. Health professionals use goals to provide targets for themselves and their clients to ...

Background People with long-term health conditions play an important part in managing their own health. But some of the tasks involved can be complicated, and require confidence and skill. Such tasks include taking medicines properly, monitoring symptoms, adopting or maintaining healthy lifestyles, managing their emotions, solving practical problems, ...

Researchers in The Cochrane Collaboration conducted a review of the effect of informing or educating members of the community about early childhood vaccination. After searching for all relevant studies, they found two studies, published in 2007 and 2009. Their findings are summarised below. What are interventions aimed at communities for childhood ...

When there are several treatments possible, healthcare professionals can involve patients in the process of making decisions about their care so that the patients can choose care that meets their needs and reflects what is important to them. We call this 'shared decision making'. Although the results are better when patients are involved, healthcare ...

Consumers need detailed information about their medications to enable them to use their medications safely and effectively. For information to be useful it needs to be presented in a format that can be easily understood by consumers. There is evidence that methods such as spoken communication between the health provider and consumer and written materials ...

Problems may arise when healthcare providers focus on managing diseases rather than on people and their health problems. Patient-centred approaches to care delivery in the patient encounter are increasingly advocated by consumers and clinicians and incorporated into training for healthcare providers. We updated a 2001 systematic review of the effects ...

People often miss taking prescribed medication, because of forgetfulness, changing medication schedules or busy lifestyles. It is estimated that between 40% and 60% of people do not take medication as prescribed, which can lead to worse health outcomes. Packaging of medications with reminder systems for the day and/or time of the week is an attempt ...