BACKGROUND The susceptibility to type 2 diabetes of people of south Asian descent is established, but there is little trial-based evidence for interventions to tackle this problem. We assessed a weight control and physical activity intervention in south Asian individuals in the UK. METHODS We did this non-blinded trial in two National Health Service (NHS) regions in Scotland (UK). Between Jul...

Objective To evaluate the impact on place of death of a hospital at home service for palliative care. Design Pragmatic randomised controlled trial. Setting Former Cambridge health district. Participants 229 patients referred to the hospital at home service; 43 randomised to control group (standard care), 186 randomised to hospital at home. Intervention Hospital at home versus standard care. Mai...

BACKGROUND Insertion of levonorgestrel-releasing intrauterine system (LNG-IUS) at caesarean section (CS) provides contraception prior to resumption of ovulation or sexual activity. Patient satisfaction with insertion at CS has not previously been studied. AIMS The aim of this study was to compare patient satisfaction with LNG-IUS inserted at the time of lower uterine segment CS to six weeks p...

BACKGROUND The referral letter is an important document facilitating the transfer of care from a general practitioner (GP) to secondary care. Hospital doctors have often criticised the quality and content of referral letters, and the effectiveness of improvement efforts remains uncertain. METHODS A cluster randomised trial was conducted using referral templates for patients in four diagnostic...

OBJECTIVES To assess the effectiveness of behavioural management in the treatment of migraine among adult patients. METHODS The randomised control trial was conducted from August 2011 to August 2012 at the Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi, in which adult patients aged 18-65 years were recruited with diagnosis of migraine from five outpatient sites. The patients were randomised into 2 equ...

BACKGROUND Living with a smoker is a key determinant of exposure to Second Hand Smoke (SHS) and its exposure mainly occurs at home. Exposure to SHS from tobacco in the household predisposes to the development of tuberculosis (TB) and outcome of the disease gets worse. We aim to develop and evaluate a behavioural intervention 'Smoke Free Homes' (SFH) for TB patients that encourages them to negot...

Purpose Randomised controlled trials identify causal links between variables but not why an outcome has occurred. This analysis sought to determine how psychological factors assessed at baseline influenced response personalised nutrition. Design/methodology/approach Web-based, randomised, trial (RCT) was conducted across seven European countries. Volunteers, both male and female, aged over 18 y...

BACKGROUND Tobacco consumption is the most preventable cause of morbidity-mortality in the world. One aspect of smoking cessation that merits in-depth study is the use of an application designed for smartphones (app), as a supportive element that could assist younger smokers in their efforts to quit. To assess the efficacy of an intervention that includes the assistance of a smoking cessation s...

BACKGROUND Randomised trials of knowledge translation strategies for professional behaviour change can provide robust estimates of effectiveness, but offer little insight into the causal mechanisms by which any change is produced. To illustrate the applicability of causal methods within randomised trials, we undertook a theory-based process evaluation study within an implementation trial to exp...

BACKGROUND Routine outcome monitoring may improve clinical services but remains controversial, partly because the absence of a control group makes interpretation difficult. AIMS To test a computer algorithm designed to allow practitioners to compare their outcomes with epidemiological data from a population sample against data from a randomised controlled trial, to see if it accurately predic...