Does distributing printed educational materials to health care professionals improve their practice, and in turn the health of patients? This question is the subject of a recent Cochrane systematic review by Giguère et al., made possible with methodological support from our knowledge translation specialists.
The findings of this review suggest that, when used alone and compared to no intervention, printed educational materials can definitely lead to slight improvements to the practice of health care professionals and the health of patients. In contrast, the effectiveness of printed educational materials compared with other interventions or as part of a multifaceted intervention is uncertain.