Background: Lifestyle risk factors, in particular smoking, nutrition, alcohol consumption and physical inactivity (SNAP) are the main behavioural risk factors for chronic disease. Primary health care (PHC) has been shown to be an effective setting to address lifestyle risk factors at the individual level. However much of the focus of research to date has been in general practice. Relatively little attention has been paid to the role of nurses working in the PHC setting. Community health nurses are well placed to provide lifestyle intervention as they often see clients in their own homes over an extended period of time, providing the opportunity to offer intervention and enhance motivation through repeated contacts. The overall aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of a brief lifestyle intervention delivered by community nurses in routine practice on changes in clientsââ?¬â?¢ SNAP risk factors.\r\nMethods/Design: \r\nThe trial uses a quasi-experimental design involving four generalist community nursing services in NSW Australia. Services have been randomly allocated to an ââ?¬Ë?early interventionââ?¬â?¢ group or ââ?¬Ë?late interventionââ?¬â?¢ (comparison) group. ââ?¬Ë?Early interventionââ?¬â?¢ sites are provided with training and support for nurses in identifying and\r\noffering brief lifestyle intervention for clients during routine consultations. ââ?¬Ë?Late intervention siteââ?¬â?¢ provide usual care and will be offered the study intervention following the final data collection point. A total of 720 generalist community nursing clients will be recruited at the time of referral from participating sites. Data collection consists of 1) telephone surveys with clients at baseline, three months and six months to examine change in SNAP risk factors and readiness to change 2) nurse survey at baseline, six and 12 months to examine changes in nurse\r\nconfidence, attitudes and practices in the assessment and management of SNAP risk factors 3) semi-structured interviews/focus with nurses, managers and clients in ââ?¬Ë?early interventionââ?¬â?¢ sites to explore the feasibility, acceptability and sustainability of the intervention.\r\nDiscussion: \r\nThe study will provide evidence about the effectiveness and feasibility of brief lifestyle interventions delivered by generalist community nurses as part of routine practice. This will inform future community nursing practice and PHC policy.
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