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The healthcare industry has seen an increase in the adoption of team training, such as crew resource management (CRM), to improve teamwork and coordination within acute care medical teams. A meta-analysis was carried out in order to quantify the effects of CRM training on reactions, learning, behaviour and clinical care outcomes. Biases in the research evidence are identified and recommendations for training development and evaluation are presented. PUBMED, EMBASE and PsychInfo were systematically searched for all relevant papers. Peer reviewed papers published in English between January 1985 and September 2013, which present empirically based studies focusing on interventions to improve team effectiveness in acute health care domains, were included. A total of 20 CRM-type team training evaluation studies were found to fulfil the a priori criteria for inclusion in the meta-analysis. Overall, CRM trained participants responded positively to CRM (mean score 4.25 out of a maximum of 5), the training had large effects on participants' knowledge (d=1.05), a small effect on attitudes (d=0.22) and a large effect on behaviours (d=1.25). There was insufficient evidence to support an effect on clinical care outcomes or long term impacts. The findings support the premise that CRM training can positively impact teamwork in healthcare and provide estimates of the expected effects of training. However, there is a need for greater precision in outcome assessment, improved standardisation of methods and measures, and more robust research design. Stronger evidence of effectiveness will require multi-level, multicentre, multispecialty and longitudinal studies.

BackgroundGestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is a risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes. Lifestyle intervention can prevent progression to type 2 diabetes in high risk populations. We designed a randomised controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the effectiveness of an established lifestyle intervention compared to standard care for delaying diabetes onset in European women with recent GDM. Recruitment into the RCT was more challenging than anticipated with only 89 of 410 (22%) women agreeing to participate. This paper identifies factors that could enhance participation of the target population in future interventions.MethodsWe hypothesised that women who agreed to participate would have higher diabetes risk profiles than those who declined, and secondly that it would be possible to predict participation on the bases of those risk factors. To test our hypothesis, we identified the subset of women for whom we had comprehensive data on diabetes risks factors 3-5 years following GDM, reducing the sample to 43 participants and 73 decliners. We considered established diabetes risk factors: smoking, daily fruit and vegetable intake, participation in exercise, family history of diabetes, glucose values and BMI scores on post-partum re-screens, use of insulin during pregnancy, and age at delivery. We also analysed narrative data from 156 decliners to further understand barriers to and facilitators of participation.ResultsTwo factors differentiated participants and decliners: age at delivery (with women older than 34 years being more likely to participate) and insulin use during pregnancy (with women requiring the use of insulin in pregnancy less likely to participate). Binary logistic regression confirmed that insulin use negatively affected the odds of participation. The most significant barriers to participation included the accessibility, affordability and practicality of the intervention.ConclusionsWomen with recent GDM face multiple barriers to lifestyle change. Intervention designers should consider: (i) the practicalities of participation for this population, (ii) research designs that capitalise on motivational differences between participants, (iii) alleviating concerns about long-term diabetes management. We hope this work will support future researchers in developing interventions that are more relevant, effective and successful in recruiting the desired population.Trial registrationCurrent Controlled Trials ISRCTN41202110

Objective. To evaluate a 12-week group-based lifestyle intervention programme for women with prediabetes following gestational diabetes (GDM). Design. A two-group, mixed methods randomized controlled trial in which 50 women with a history of GDM and abnormal glucose tolerance postpartum were randomly assigned to intervention (n = 24) or wait control (n = 26) and postintervention qualitative interviews with participants. Main Outcome Measures. Modifiable biochemical, anthropometric, behavioural, and psychosocial risk factors associated with the development of type 2 diabetes. The primary outcome variable was the change in fasting plasma glucose (FPG) from study entry to one-year follow-up. Results. At one-year follow-up, the intervention group showed significant improvements over the wait control group on stress, diet self-efficacy, and quality of life. There was no evidence of an effect of the intervention on measures of biochemistry or anthropometry; the effect on one health behaviour, diet adherence, was close to significance. Conclusions. Prevention programmes must tackle the barriers to participation faced by this population; home-based interventions should be investigated. Strategies for promoting long-term health self-management need to be developed and tested.