title: A cardiovascular educational intervention for primary care professionals in Spain: positive impact in a quasi-experimental study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Routine general practice data collection can help identify patients at risk of cardiovascular disease.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To determine whether a training programme for primary care professionals improves the recording of cardiovascular disease risk factors in electronic health records.
  
  
  METHODS
  A quasi-experimental study without random assignment of professionals. This was an educational intervention study, consisting of an online-classroom 1-year training programme, and carried out in the Valencian community in Spain.
  
  
  METHODS
  The prevalence rates of recording of cardiovascular factors (recorded every 6 months over a 4-year period) were compared between intervention and control group. Clinical relevance was calculated by absolute risk reduction (ARR), relative risk reduction (RRR), and number of patients needed-to-attend (NNA), to avoid under-recording, with their 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Linear regression models were used for each of the variables.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of the 941 professionals initially registered, 78.1% completed the programme. The ARR ranged from 1.87% (95% CI = 1.79 to 1.94) in the diagnosis of diabetes to 15.27% (95% CI = 15.14 to 15.40) in the recording of basal blood glucose. The NNA ranged from 7 in blood pressure, cholesterol, and blood glucose recording to 54 in the diagnosis of diabetes. The RRR ranged from 26.7% in the diagnosis of diabetes to 177.1% in the recording of the Systematic Coronary Risk Evaluation (SCORE). The rates of change were greater in the intervention group and the differences were significant for recording of cholesterol (P<0.001), basal blood glucose (P<0.001), smoking (P<0.001), alcohol (P<0.001), microalbuminuria (P = 0.001), abdominal circumference (P<0.001), and SCORE (P<0.001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The education programme had a beneficial effect at the end of the follow-up that was significant and clinically relevant.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernández University, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Gil-Guillén
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernández University, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Enrique
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Hermida
authors.affiliation: Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics Unit, Complexo Hospitalario Universitario A Coruña (CHUAC), SERGAS, Universidad de A Coruña, A Coruña, Spain.
authors.forename: Salvador
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pita-Fernandez
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernández University, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Palazon-Bru
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, School of Public Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, US.
authors.forename: Ramon
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Durazo-Arvizu
authors.affiliation: Health Surveillance Unit, Unión de Mutuas, Castellón, Spain.
authors.forename: Vicente
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Pallares-Carratala
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernández University, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Domingo
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Orozco-Beltran
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernández University, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Concepcion
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carratala-Munuera
authors.affiliation: Clinical Medicine Department, Miguel Hernández University, San Juan de Alicante, Alicante, Spain.
authors.forename: Adriana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Lopez-Pineda
authors.affiliation: Valencia University, Valencia, Spain.
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Navarro
mesh_terms: D002309:Cardiology / Q000193:education*; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D004496:Education, Continuing / Q000379:methods; D004521:Educational Measurement / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057286:Electronic Health Records / Q000592:standards; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007318:Inservice Training / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D058996:Quality Improvement; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D013030:Spain / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: cardiovascular diseases; health education; prevention and control; registries