Behaviour-change interventions in primary care: influence on nutrition and on the metabolic syndrome definers

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to examine whether interventions influenced patients' (i) consumption of fish; whole grain products; fruits and vegetables; (ii) overall nutrition, that is, the three former as an index; and (iii) clinical outcomes in terms of metabolic syndrome definers. A questionnaire was delivered to adult patients entering the nine health centres on November 2006 (n = 1211). During the year the ward personnel conducted intervention on patients with unhealthy habits. The 12-month follow up was conducted by mailings. Also clinical data of pre- and post-intervention values of metabolic syndrome definers were collected. For the analyses, intervention was divided into brief (≤ 15 min, at most three visits) and extended (> 15 min, more than three visits) intervention. Logistic Regression and manova were used to measure changes in the outcomes. Nutrition-related intervention was conducted on 218 patients (brief intervention n = 179, extended intervention n = 39). In the extended intervention group it was three times more likely to have a positive change in the nutrition index than in the brief intervention group (P = 0.017, confidence interval 1.223-7.773). In conclusion, brief interventions were commonly used in the primary care. However, they were not enough to produce changes in the patients' nutrition or in the clinical outcomes.