S. Hunskaar et al., DIRECT MAILING OF CONSENSUS RECOMMENDATIONS DID NOT ALTER GP KNOWLEDGE AND PRESCRIPTION OF ESTROGEN IN THE MENOPAUSE, Scandinavian journal of primary health care, 14(4), 1996, pp. 203-208
Objective - To investigate the impact of an information-package (direc
t mailing) concerning oestrogen therapy, deriving from a consensus con
ference in 1990, on general practitioners' (GPs') attitudes and knowle
dge. Design and subjects - Controlled randomised study. Two groups of
Norwegian GPs. The Intervention group received an information-package
consisting of the recommendations from the consensus conference, some
headline questions with answers, and a classification of the oestrogen
s available in Norway, including a table and a graphical presentation
of the costs of the different treatments. GPs stated their views on pr
escribing oestrogen on a five step scale, related to nine short case h
istories, each containing cues on complaints, smoking, family history
suggesting risk for cardiovascular disease, and osteoporosis. Main out
come measures - GPs' views on prescribing oestrogen, relation to age,
sex, practice type (solo/group) and practice location. Results - The d
ifferences in answer distributions between the Intervention (n=193) an
d Control (n=181) groups did not reach statistical significance for an
y of the nine case histories. The answers indicate a more liberal atti
tude towards replacement therapy in 1992 compared to a study performed
in 1990. The views on contraindications was fundamentally unaltered.
Conclusion - The study did not reveal any significant effect of direct
mailing as means of disseminating consensus conference recommendation
s to GPs.