Gomel et al (1983)

Aims

To reduce cardiovascular diseases in Australian ambulance stations by using 4 intervention programmes.

Procedures

28 Australian ambulance stations – randomly allocated to one of the four interventions:

1. Risk assessment
2. Risk factor education
3. Behavioural counselling
4. Behavioural counselling plus incentives

Participants were assessed before the intervention and at 3,6,12 months of intervention.

Findings

• 12-month cessation rates were higher in the two behavioural counselling groups.
• Smaller increases in body mass index and estimated percentage of body fat in the two behavioural conditions.
• The behavioural counselling was associated with greater reduction in mean blood pressure than behavioural counselling with incentives.
• Among all groups, there was a short-term increase in aerobic capacity followed by a return to baseline levels.

Conclusions

Work-site interventions that use behavioural approaches can reduce lasting changes in some cardiovascular risk factors and, if implemented routinely, can have a significant public health impact.

Strengths:

• Ecological validity – the research was carried out in real worksite, meaning that participants were more likely to act natural. This makes the results more reliable.
• Useful – the study helped to reduce the rates of smoking, drinking and other risk factors. It also suggested how health care centres should implement health campaign promotions. Therefore, it had a positive impact.

Weaknesses

• Self-report – social desirability and demand characteristics may affect the results because people might feel the need to please the researchers or look desirable to society, mostly when it involves health.
• Low reliability – the study is not highly replicable since it would be hard to conduct the same research at the ambulance stations with the same people.
• Cultural bias – even though the study was conducted in a number of ambulance stations, the results can hardly be generalised to the wider population because they might be affected by culture.