There was no significant difference in smoking continuance , or improved fruit and vegetable consumption .
CONCLUSIONS There are benefits to be derived from multimodal secondary prevention interventions .
BACKGROUND Guidelines recommend implementation of multimodal interventions to help prevent recurrent TIA/stroke .
We undertook a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of behavioral secondary prevention interventions .
Impact of enhanced secondary prevention on health behaviour in patients following minor stroke and transient ischaemic attack: a randomized controlled trial
Objective : To evaluate whether enhanced secondary prevention more significantly influences readiness to change health behaviour after minor stroke/transient ischaemic attack , compared with conventional stroke secondary prevention . Design : Single-blind r and omized control trial . Setting : Rural district general hospital outpatient clinic . Subjects : Fifteen women and 37 men with a mean age of 68.3 years with first minor stroke or transient ischaemic attack . Interventions : The intervention group received ‘ enhanced secondary prevention ’ ( additional advice , motivational interviewing and telephone support ) to change health behaviour . Both groups received ‘ conventional care ’ which included advice given during routine care . Main measures : The primary outcome was ‘ readiness to change behaviour ’ measured using a vali date d stroke specific score based on the transtheoretical model . Secondary outcomes were the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale , and self-reported alcohol consumption , smoking behaviour , exercise frequency , and fruit and vegetable consumption . Results : Analysis of the data for the 52 participants showed no statistical difference in the groups for the primary outcome of readiness to change behaviour . Statistically significant improvements for change in self-reported exercise were demonstrated ( P = 0.007 ) ; to 2—3 times per week in the intervention group compared to 0—1 times per week in the control group , and in fruit and vegetable consumption ( P = 0.033 ) ; to 10 portions of fruit and vegetables consumed per week in the intervention group compared to 1 or 2 portions a week for the control group . No evidence of a difference between groups was seen for alcohol consumption or Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale . Conclusions : While no difference was demonstrated between the groups for readiness to change behaviour , a clinical ly significant effect in reported exercise behaviour and diet were demonstrated in the intervention group . This interesting finding indicates a dissonance between the behaviour scale and actual behaviour change , potentially indicating a lack of sensitivity of the scale to detect a change in this patient group
There was no significant difference in smoking continuance , or improved fruit and vegetable consumption .
CONCLUSIONS There are benefits to be derived from multimodal secondary prevention interventions .
BACKGROUND Guidelines recommend implementation of multimodal interventions to help prevent recurrent TIA/stroke .
We undertook a systematic review to assess the effectiveness of behavioral secondary prevention interventions .