EFFECTIVENESS OF 2 PREVENTIVE INTERVENTIONS FOR CORONARY HEART-DISEASE IN PRIMARY-CARE

Objectives - 1. To compare a patient-centred, self-directive intervent ion with conventional care; 2. To evaluate longitudinal within-group c hanges of coronary heart disease risk. Methods - Risk factor changes w ere evaluated in 110 men with high coronary heart disease risk attendi ng a one year intervention study in general practice. The 22 participa ting general practice centres were randomly allocated to follow either a patient-centred, self directive intervention or a conventional appr oach. Results - No significant between-group differences were found in any single risk factor or in the combined risk of coronary heart dise ase. The improvement of total risk from screening time to conclusion o f the study corresponded with changes of relative risks of CHD to 0.64 (95% CI: 0.54-0.77) and 0.65 (0.54-0.77) in the patient-centred, self -directive and the conventional care group respectively (p<0.0001 in b oth groups). Conclusion - Everyday general practice clinical work seem s as efficacious as a specific intervention method based on currently advocated behaviour change principles.