Study details | Total (N) | Significant reduction in patient delay | No significant reduction in patient delay |
Study design | |||
RCTs/Cluster RCT | 7 | 2 | 5 |
Controlled before and after | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Uncontrolled before and after/ITS | 26 | 15 | 11 |
Post-test only | 2 | 1 | 1 |
Case–control study | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Theoretical underpinning | |||
Yes | 8 | 2 | 6 |
No | 31 | 18 | 13 |
Intervention mode of delivery | |||
Population-level, mass media | 30 | 17 | 13 |
Individual-level, face-to-face | 4 | 1 | 3 |
Individual-level, direct mailing | 3 | 2 | 1 |
Both, mass media + direct mailing | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Intervention intensity | |||
Campaigns ≤12 months | 15 | 8 | 7 |
Campaigns >12 months | 8 | 4 | 4 |
Population | |||
Confirmed diagnosis | 15 | 8 | 7 |
Suspected diagnosis | 24 | 12 | 12 |
Year of publication | |||
In/before 2000 | 18 | 10 | 8 |
After 2000 | 21 | 10 | 11 |
Measurement of delay | |||
Symptom onset to hospital arrival | 24 | 12 | 12 |
Symptom onset to first seeking help | 5 | 1 | 4 |
Both | 5 | 4 | 1 |
Not reported | 5 | 3 | 2 |
Clinical context | |||
ACS | 5 | 3 | 2 |
MI | 16 | 8 | 8 |
Stroke | 15 | 9 | 6 |
Breast cancer | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Chest pain | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Overall study quality based on total score | |||
Randomised studies (total quality score range 6–18; good–poor quality) | |||
Scored 6–9 | 5 | 2 | 3 |
Scored 10–14 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Scored 15–18 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Non-randomised studies (total quality score range 4–12; good–poor quality) | |||
Scored 4–5 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
Scored 6–8 | 20 | 13 | 7 |
Scored 9–12 | 11 | 5 | 6 |
ACS, acute coronary syndrome; ITS, interrupted time series; MI, myocardial infarction; RCTs, randomised controlled trials.