Costs and benefits of community postnatal support workers: a randomised controlled trial.
Health Technology AssessmentPublished 1 January 2000Open access
C Jane Morrell, Helen Spiby, Paul W. Stewart, Stephen J. Walters, Anne Morgan
Citations166
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.36
SNIP1.69
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TL;DR
Although women valued the service, there was no evidence of any health benefit at the 6-week or 6-month follow-up, no difference in use of NHS services, and the additional cost of the service provision would be around pound 180 per woman.
Abstract
Although women valued the service, there was no evidence of any health benefit at the 6-week or 6-month follow-up, no difference in use of NHS services, and the additional cost of the service provision would be around pound 180 per woman.
Keywords
Medicine
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