Gutzwiller 1985

Methods	Country: Switzerland Objective: To reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality through reductions in smoking, cholesterol, high blood pressure and sedentary lifestyles. Study Sites: Aarau, Nyon, Solothurn and Vevey Programme name: National Research Program (NRP 1A) Design: Quasi‐experimental, with Aarau and Nyon chosen as the intervention towns and Solothurn and Vevey as the comparison towns. Analysis: Cohort analyses, t‐tests, chi squared, Mantel‐Haenzel and McNemar tests, individual as the unit of analysis. Sample size and power calculations were reported for changes in serum cholesterol, with beta=0.01, or a power of 90%.
Participants	Population of study sites: Aarau ‐ 16,000, Nyon ‐ 12,000, Solothurn ‐ 16,000, Vevey ‐ 12,000 Age: 16+ Sex: female and male Ethnicity: White
Interventions	Theoretical basis: None reported, but the intervention was a community‐oriented lifestyle intervention programme. Components: community organization, local action committees and coordinators, health professionals, teachers, community and business associations, sports clubs, health agencies, local government, newspaper articles, public discussions, posters, slide shows, and smoking cessation groups. Year started: 1977/78 Duration: 3 yrs Sustainability: Citizen action in the intervention areas was taken up on a political level to ensure continuation of the project. The project enjoyed continued support after the formal end of the study. No further details were given.
Outcomes	Questionnaire: in‐person interview at home Biochemical measure of smoking: serum thiocyanate Baseline: 1977/78, immediately preceding the intervention Outcome: 1980/81, after 3 yrs of intervention. Further follow up: not reported.
Notes	Economic evaluation: A cost‐benefit analysis of the overall programme was conducted. Calculations showed that the health benefits well outweighed programme costs.