Proximal outcomes of the 'Making every contact count' (MECC) approach in healthcare settings: a rapid review.

INTRODUCTION

Non-communicable diseases represent one of the main health challenges of the 21st century; most of their risk factors are modifiable. The 'Making Every Contact Count' (MECC) strategy, first implemented in the United Kingdom, introduces an opportunistic approach to the delivery of prevention messages by any staff member in health and social services. The objective is to assess proximal outcomes of the MECC approach in healthcare settings.

METHODS

This rapid review included documents from three databases (Embase, MEDLINE, Web of Science) and grey literature sources (Google Scholar, WorldCat, other sources) searched between February and March 2025, with citation searching conducted in April 2026. A two-step, double-blind selection process was performed. The Population-Intervention-Control-Outcomes (PICO), Risk Of Bias In Non-randomized Studies of Interventions (ROBINS-I V2), and Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) frameworks were used.

RESULTS

Eight articles were included: two peer-reviewed articles, four abstracts, and two letters, all conducted within health services in England. These studies reported improvements in the uptake of health conversations, identification of health issues, referral to prevention programmes, and attendance at said programmes. Noticeably, only one article measured a health outcome, related to weight loss. The certainty of evidence for the outcomes was rated very low by the GRADE tool. The only ROBINS-I V2-compatible article was judged to have a moderate risk of bias.

DISCUSSION: This limited body of literature and the low methodological quality among studies assessing patient outcomes underscore the need for more robust studies before recommending wider implementation of the MECC approach. PROSPERO registration number CRD420250650313.