Table 3 Description of included primary studies for the comparison educational meetings and workshops with other co-interventions versus usual care

Loeb 2005 [20]

Nurses and physicians, 2156 residents in 12 nursing homes participated in the intervention group and 2061 residents in 12 nursing homes partcipated in the control group in USA and Canada.

Age not reported.

Aimed at reducing the number of prescriptions for antimicrobials for suspected urinary tract infections. Multifaceted intervention: Diagnostic and treatment algorithm for urinary tract infections introduced to physicians and nurses, small group interactive sessions with case scenarios for nurses, videotapes, outreach visits to the physicians that cared for 80% or more of the residents, visits from the researchers every three months to address any questions, one nurse in each nursing home appointed to remind nurses to use the algorithm.

Extent of implementation: Not reported.

Usual care.

Number of amtimicrobial prescriptions for suspected urinary tract infection per 1000 resident days, total number of prescriptions for amtimicrobials per 1000 resident days, number of admissions to hospital, mortality.

Meador

1997 [22]

Health personnel and 575 residents in 6 nursing homes in the intervention group and 577 residents in 6 nursing homes in the control group in USA.

Age: ≥65 years

Aimed at reducing antipsychotic use in nursing homes with high use rates. Physicians, nurses, nursing assistants and other direct care staff were trained to use structured guidelines. Educational outreach: A geropsychiatrist visited all physicians who had five or more patients in the home to dicuss risks and benefits of antpsychotics and delivered printed material. Educational meetings: A trained nurse educator conducted five to six 1 hour inservice programs (including case examples, role playing and problem solving sessions) for staff over a 1 week period. Four weeks after the inservice programs were completed, a follow up session was conducted for the staff. Further consultations and meetings could be arranged if requested (it is not reported if it was).

Extent of implementation: Not reported.

Usual care and waiting list.

Use of antipsychotics as registered in the medication administration records.

Roberts 2001 [24]

Nurses, 905 residents in 13 nursing homes in the intervention group and 2325 residents in 39 nursing homes in Australia.

70% of residents ≥80 years

Aimed at changing drug use, mortality and morbidity. 12 months intervention involving three phases: introducing a new professional role to stakeholders with relationship building, nurse education and medication review by pharmacists. In focus groups, written and telephone communication and face to face professional contact between nursing home staff and clinical pharmacist drug policies and resident problems were dicussed. 6-9 problem based education sessions (11 hours total) were held for nurses. The subjects were geriatric pharmacology, depression and dementia, incontinence, falls, insomnia, constipation, and pain supported by wall charts, bulletins, telephone calls and visits by clinical pharmacists (average contacts per nursing home was 26 h). For 500 selected residents clinical pharmacists wrote down the results of their review of medication, which was then discussed with the nurses and included in each patient's record and thus made available to the residents' physician.

Extent of implementation: Not reported.

Usual care.

Percentage of residents being administered psychotropic medication, mortality, number of hospitalisations.