A computerized tool for evaluating the effectiveness of preventive interventions

In identifying appropriate strategies for effective use of preventive servi ces for particular settings or populations, public health practitioners emp loy a systematic approach to evaluating the literature. Behavioral interven tion studies that focus on prevention, however, pose special challenges for these traditional methods. Tools for synthesizing evidence on preventive i nterventions can improve public health practice. The authors developed a literature abstraction tool and a classification fo r preventive interventions. They incorporated the tool into a PC-based rela tional database and user-friendly evidence reporting system, then tested th e system by reviewing behavioral interventions for hypertension management. They performed a structured literature search and reviewed 100 studies on behavioral interventions for hypertension management. They abstracted infor mation using the abstraction tool and classified important elements of inte rventions for comparison across studies. The authors found that many studies in their pilot project did not report s ufficient information to allow for complete evaluation, comparison across s tudies, or replication of the intervention. They propose that studies repor ting on preventive interventions should (a) categorize interventions into d iscrete components; (b) report sufficient participant information; and (c) report characteristics such as intervention leaders, timing, and setting so that public health professionals can compare and select the most appropria te interventions.