Caution must therefore be exercised in interpreting results , but the case for investment in parenting and health visitor-related programmes appears most strong , especially when impacts beyond the health sector are taken into account .
In the workplace an economic return on investment in a number of comprehensive workplace health promotion programmes and stress management projects ( largely in the USA ) was reported , while group-based exercise and psychosocial interventions are of potential benefit to older people .
Postnatal support for mothers living in disadvantaged inner city areas: a randomised controlled trial
Study objective : To evaluate the effect of two forms of postnatal social support for disadvantaged inner city mothers on  maternal and child health outcomes . Design : R and omised controlled trial with economic and process evaluations and follow up at 12 and 18 months . The two intervention groups received either the offer of a year of monthly supportive listening home visits by a support health visitor ( SHV ) , or a year of support from community groups providing drop in sessions , home visiting and /or telephone support ( CGS ) . Each was compared with a control group that received st and ard health visitor services . Setting : Two disadvantaged boroughs of London , United Kingdom . Participants : 731 women from culturally diverse background s with infants . Main results : At 12 and 18 months , there was little impact for either intervention on the main outcomes : child injury ( SHV : relative risk 0.99 ; 95 % confidence intervals 0.68 to 1.45 , CGS : 0.91 ; 0.61 to1.36 ) , maternal smoking ( SHV : 0.86 ; 0.62 to 1.19 , CGS : 0.97 ; 0.72 to 1.33 ) or maternal depression ( SHV : 0.86 ; 0.62 to1.19 , CGS : 0.93 ; 0.69 to 1.27 ) . SHV women had different patterns of health service use ( with fewer taking their children to the GP ) and had less anxious experiences of motherhood than control women . User satisfaction with the SHV intervention was high . Uptake of the CGS intervention was low : 19 % , compared with 94 % for the SHV intervention . Conclusions : There was no evidence of impact on the primary outcomes of either intervention among this culturally diverse population . The SHV intervention was associated with improvement in some of the secondary outcomes
Caution must therefore be exercised in interpreting results , but the case for investment in parenting and health visitor-related programmes appears most strong , especially when impacts beyond the health sector are taken into account .
In the workplace an economic return on investment in a number of comprehensive workplace health promotion programmes and stress management projects ( largely in the USA ) was reported , while group-based exercise and psychosocial interventions are of potential benefit to older people .