BACKGROUND In most low-income countries, many women with high-risk pregnancies and complications do not reach the referral hospitals despite the provision of referral advice. OBJECTIVE To explore how antenatal maternal referral advice is understood and handled in a rural Tanzanian community. METHODS Individual in-depth interviews were conducted with six women who did not go to hospital and ...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the veterinary referral process and factors that contribute to positive outcomes. OBJECTIVE To investigate equine referring veterinarians' (rDVMs') satisfaction with their most recent referral experience and compare rDVM and specialist perspectives. SAMPLE 187 rDVMs and 92 specialists (referral care providers). METHODS Cross-sectional observational study. ...

BACKGROUND In Saudi Arabia, the mortality of diabetes is currently reported at 6%. A well-administered referral system is crucial in aiding the management of this disease. METHOD A single reviewer employed a systematic approach to searching the literature databases with regard to the question: what are the attributes of referral systems in Saudi Arabia for patients with type 2 diabetes (T2D)?...

AIMS This study implemented and evaluated procedures to help clinicians make effective referrals to 12-Step self-help groups. DESIGN Randomized controlled trial. Setting Out-patient substance use disorder treatment. Participants Individuals with substance use disorders (SUDs) entering a new treatment episode (n = 345) who were assigned randomly to a standard referral- or an intensive referral...

AIM To assess effectiveness of guidelines for referral for elective surgical assessment. METHOD Systematic review with descriptive synthesis. DATA SOURCES Medline, EMBASE, CINAHL and Cochrane database up to 2008. Hand searches of journals and websites. SELECTION OF STUDIES Studies evaluated guidelines for referral from primary to secondary care, for elective surgical assessment for adults...

BACKGROUND The main objective of this study is to establish a benchmark for referral rates in rural Niger so as to allow interpretation of routine referral data to assess the performance of the referral system in Niger. METHODS Strict and controlled application of existing clinical decision trees in a sample of rural health centres allowed the estimation of the corresponding need for and char...

BACKGROUND Community health workers (CHW) manage simple childhood illnesses in many developing countries. Information on CHWs' referral practices is limited. As part of a large cluster-randomised trial, this study assessed CHWs' adherence to dosing and referral guidelines. METHODS Records of consultations of children aged 2-59 months with fever managed by CHWs were analysed. Appropriate use o...

OBJECTIVE To investigate the relation between general practitioners' referral rates to individual specialties and the individual areas of expertise of the referring doctors. DESIGN Data collected on referral patterns in one group practice over nine months. SETTING General practice in suburban Birmingham consisting of five partners and a trainee. RESULTS In 395 referrals there were large d...