title: A randomised trial assessing the acceptability and effectiveness of providing generic versus tailored feedback about health risks for a high need primary care sample.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Tailored feedback has been shown to be effective for modifying health risk behaviours and may aid the provision of preventive care by general practitioners (GPs). However, provision of tailored patient feedback for vulnerable or socially disadvantaged groups is not well explored. The aims of this study were to examine the acceptability and effectiveness of providing generic compared to tailored feedback on self-reported health risk behaviours among a high need sample of people attending an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS).
  
  
  METHODS
  Participants attending two ACCHSs in regional New South Wales completed a touch screen health risk survey and received either generic or tailored health risk feedback. Participants were asked to complete an exit survey after their appointment. The exit survey asked about feedback acceptability and effectiveness. Self-reported ease of understanding, relevance and whether the generic versus tailored feedback helped patients talk to their GP was compared using Chi-square analysis; The mean number of survey health risks talked about or for which additional actions were undertaken (such as provision of lifestyle advice or referral) was compared using t-tests.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eighty seven participants (36 % consent rate) completed the exit survey. Tailored feedback was rated as more relevant and was more likely to be shown to the participant's GP than generic feedback. There was no difference in the mean number of health risk topics discussed or number of additional actions taken by the GP by type of feedback.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Tailored and generic feedback showed no difference in effectiveness, and little difference in acceptability, among this socially disadvantaged population. Completing a health risk survey and receiving any type of feedback may have overwhelmed more subtle differences in outcomes between the generic and the tailored feedback. Future work to rigorously evaluate the longer-term effectiveness of the provision of tailored health risk feedback for Aboriginal Australians, as well as other high need groups, is still needed.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ANZCTRN12614001205628. Registered 11 November 2014.
authors.affiliation: Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour and School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia. Natasha.Noble@newcastle.edu.au.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Noble
authors.affiliation: Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour and School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia. Chris.Paul@newcastle.edu.au.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Paul
authors.affiliation: Priority Research Centre for Health Behaviour and School of Medicine and Public Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia. Mariko.Carey@newcastle.edu.au.
authors.forename: Mariko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Carey
authors.affiliation: Casino Aboriginal Medical Service, Casino, NSW, 2470, Australia. sblunden@casinoams.com.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Blunden
authors.affiliation: School of Medicine and Public Health and Department of Rural Health, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia. Nicole.Turner@newcastle.edu.au.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Turner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D000068156:Formative Feedback; D058006:General Practice / Q000379:methods; D015438:Health Behavior; D006303:Health Services, Indigenous; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009517:New South Wales; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care / Q000208:ethnology*; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods*; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012309:Risk-Taking; D057566:Self Report; D055815:Young Adult