Category Archives: Cochrane

Impact of institutional smoking bans on reducing harms and secondhand smoke exposure

Posted on by

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, June 2016

This Cochrane review aims to assess the extent to which institutional smoking bans may reduce passive smoke exposure and active smoking, and affect other health-related outcomes.

The study found evidence of an effect of settings-based smoking policies on reducing smoking rates in hospitals and universities. In prisons, reduced mortality rates and reduced exposure to secondhand smoke were reported. However, the reviewers rated the evidence base as low quality. The study concludes that more robust studies assessing the evidence for smoking bans and policies in these important specialist settings are needed.

Click here for further information and to access the full text review.

Advertisements

Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) for the detection of dementia in clinically unevaluated people aged 65 and over in community and primary care populations

Posted on by

Cochrane Systematic Reviews, January 2016

This Cochrane Review finds that the MMSE contributes to a diagnosis of dementia in low prevalence settings, but should not be used in isolation to confirm or exclude disease. They recommend that future work evaluates the diagnostic accuracy of tests in the context of the diagnostic pathway experienced by the patient and that investigators report how undergoing the MMSE changes patient-relevant outcomes.

Click here to access the full text review.

Consultation liaison in primary care for people with mental disorders

Posted on by

Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, September 2015

This Cochrane review finds evidence that consultation liaison improves mental health for up to three months; and satisfaction and adherence for up to 12 months in people with mental disorders, particularly those who are depressed.

Click here to download the full review.

Interventions for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness

Posted on by

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, June 2015

This is an updated version of an original Cochrane review published in Issue 3 2006 (Perry 2006). The review represents one from a family of four reviews focusing on interventions for drug-using offenders. This specific review considers interventions aimed at reducing drug use or criminal activity, or both for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness.  The review aims to assess the effectiveness of interventions for drug-using offenders with co-occurring mental illness in reducing criminal activity or drug use, or both.

Click here to access the full text paper.

The knowledge system underpinning healthcare is not fit for purpose and must change

Posted on by

BMJ, 3 June 2015

Information on the effectiveness and safety of healthcare should be valid, precise, up to date, clear, and freely available. Currently none of these criteria are fully satisfied, and Cochrane systematic reviews are not the solution. In this article the authors explain why the knowledge system for healthcare is unfit for purpose and suggest how it should change.

Click here to view this article.  You will need to login with your Athens account to view this article.

All LCFT staff and students are eligible to register for an Athens account.  Please click here to register.

Psychoeducation (brief) for people with serious mental illness

Posted on by

The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, April 2015

This systematic review aims to assess the efficacy of brief psychoeducational interventions as a means of helping severely mentally ill people when added to ‘standard’ care, compared with the efficacy of standard care alone.

As a secondary objective the review aims to investigate whether there is evidence that a particular kind (individual/ family/group) of brief psychoeducational intervention is superior to others.

Click here to access the full text paper and additional information.