Le reviews della Cochrane Collaboration in tema di promozione della salute: una rassegna di interesse per il medico del lavoro

Introduction. Health promotion is a key aspect of the WHO health policy. The aim of the study is to evaluate health promotion reviews published within the Cochrane Collaboration framework.Methods. Research of information contained in the Cochrane Library was performed in April 2009 using the keyword health promotion (29 reviews). A further research was performed using the following keywords: smoking (94 reviews), alcohol (92 reviews), diet (141 reviews), exercise (273 reviews).Results. Among the 61 reviews pertinent to the study's purpose, 33 were related to actions aimed at quitting smoking, 15 at reducing alcohol abuse, 6 at reducing high-calorie food intake and at promoting physical activity, the last 7 included other generic or methodological action. The results of the reviews were classified according to their effectiveness.Conclusion. The Cochrane Library reviews provide an influential, high quality and up-to-date panorama on the effectiveness of the possible actions. In particular, the reviews in the field of health promotion are of interest for the occupational health practitioner to make appropriate decisions in the field of workers’ health promotion.