Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “Telephone”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 379 records · Page 21Linked to original sources
PubMed2004

Synchronizing clinician engagement and client motivation in telephone counseling.

Health care increasingly incorporates telephone counseling, but the interactions supporting its delivery are not well understood. The authors' clinical trial of a tailored, nurse-administered smoking cessation intervention for surgical patients included a telephone counseling component and provided an opportunity to describe the interaction dynamics of proactive telephone counseling over the course of 4 months. Tape-recorded telephone counseling calls for 56 consecutively enrolled individuals randomized to the intervention group resulted in a data set of 368 calls, which were transcribed and analyzed using constant comparative methods. The findings revealed varying interaction dynamics depending on the nurse's level of engagement with participants and participants' motivation to stop smoking. The authors identified four interaction dynamics: affirming/working, chasing/skirting, controlling/withdrawing, and avoiding commitment. Shifts in interaction dynamics were common and influenced the provision of support both positively and negatively. The findings challenge many assumptions underlying telephone counseling and suggest strategies to improve its delivery.

Directive Counseling↗
PubMed1994

Telephone contacts do not improve adherence to niacin or bile acid sequestrant therapy.

OBJECTIVE: Noxious adverse effects frequently limit patient acceptance of niacin and bile acid sequestrants (BAS), first-line agents in the management of hypercholesterolemia. The purpose of this study was to determine whether telephone contacts from a healthcare professional could improve drug adherence and tolerance in patients prescribed these medications. PATIENTS AND METHODS: This was a randomized, single-blind trial of telephone contacts vs. no intervention in patients with hyperlipidemia who were prescribed either niacin or BAS in a large, Veterans Affairs, lipid clinic. Patients randomized to telephone contact (n = 81) received weekly calls from a trained healthcare professional during the first month of drug therapy. Counseling regarding adverse effects, and prescriptions to overcome minor adverse effects, were provided as needed to patients during the telephone contact. RESULTS: Significant differences were not observed between groups in the drug discontinuance rate, adherence assessed by two independent methods, or in the final dosage of medication ingested. CONCLUSIONS: Telephone contacts do not improve either adherence or tolerance to niacin or BAS. Alternative approaches to enhance acceptance of these medications requires further evaluation.

Allied Health Personnel↗
PubMed2005

Telephone support for pregnant smokers who want to stop smoking.

This article describes a statewide, proactive telephone peer-support system to help low-income pregnant women stop smoking. From October 1994 to December 2000, 948 pregnant smokers attending the Women, Infants, Children program accepted an offer to receive support by telephone from a woman ex-smoker who called weekly, biweekly, and then monthly to provide guidance, encouragement, and reinforcement for smoking cessation. This free service, funded by the Vermont Department of Health, resulted in 25% self-reported abstinence at last telephone contact when women never reached for telephone support were counted as smokers, and self-reported abstinence during pregnancy of 20% among participants who returned for their postpartum Women, Infants, Children visit. These findings suggest that proactive telephone peer support is a viable way to help pregnant women stop smoking during pregnancy.

Female↗
PubMed2005

A randomized trial of mail vs. telephone invitation to a community-based cardiovascular health awareness program for older family practice patients [ISRCTN61739603].

BACKGROUND: Family physicians can play an important role in encouraging patients to participate in community-based health promotion initiatives designed to supplement and enhance their in-office care. Our objectives were to determine effective approaches to invite older family practice patients to attend cardiovascular health awareness sessions in community pharmacies, and to assess the feasibility and acceptability of a program incorporating invitation by physicians and feedback to physicians. METHODS: We conducted a prospective randomized trial with 1 family physician practice and 5 community pharmacies in Dundas, Ontario. Regular patients 65 years or older (n = 235) were randomly allocated to invitation by mail or telephone to attend pharmacy cardiovascular health awareness sessions led by volunteer peer health educators. A health record review captured blood pressure status, monitoring and control. At the sessions, volunteers helped patients to measure blood pressure using in-store machines and a validated portable device (BPM-100), and recorded blood pressure readings and self-reported cardiovascular risk factors. We compared attendance rates in the mail and telephone invitation groups and explored factors potentially associated with attendance. RESULTS: The 119 patients invited by mail and 116 patients contacted by telephone had a mean age of 75.7 (SD, 6.4) years and 46.8% were male. Overall, 58.3% (137/235) of invitees attended a pharmacy cardiovascular health awareness session. Patients invited by telephone were more likely to attend than those invited by mail (72.3% vs. 44.0%, OR 3.3; 95%CI 1.9-5.7; p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: While the attendance in response to a telephone invitation was higher, response to a single letter was substantial. Attendance rates indicated considerable interest in community-based cardiovascular health promotion activities. A large-scale trial of a pharmacy cardiovascular health awareness program for older primary care patients is feasible.

Aged↗
PubMed2006

Emerging advantages and drawbacks of telephone surveying in public health research in Ireland and the U.K.

BACKGROUND: Telephone surveys have been used widely in public health research internationally and are being increasingly used in Ireland and the U.K. METHODS: This study compared three telephone surveys conducted on the island of Ireland from 2000 to 2004, examining study methodology, outcome measures and the per unit cost of each completed survey. We critically examined these population-based surveys which all explored health related attitudes and behaviours. RESULTS: Over the period from 2000 to 2005 the percentage of calls which succeeded in contacting an eligible member of the public fell, from 52.9% to 31.8%. There was a drop in response rates to the surveys (once contact was established) from 58.6% to 17.7%. Costs per completed interview rose from 4.48 euro to 15.65 euro. Respondents were prepared to spend 10-15 minutes being surveyed, but longer surveys yielded poorer completion rates. Respondents were willing to discuss issues of a sensitive nature. Interviews after 9 pm were less successful, with complaints about the lateness of the call. Randomisation from electronic residential telephone directory databases excluded all ex-directory numbers and thus was not as representative of the general population as number generation by the hundred-bank method. However the directory database was more efficient in excluding business and fax numbers. CONCLUSION: Researchers should take cognisance of under-representativeness of land-line telephone surveys, of the increasing difficulties in contacting the public and of mounting personnel costs. We conclude that telephone surveying now requires additional strategies such as a multimode approach, or incentivisation, to be a useful, cost-effective means of acquiring data on public health matters in Ireland and the U.K.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Telephone social support and education for adaptation to prostate cancer: a pilot study.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the feasibility of an intervention of telephone social support and education to increase the physical, emotional, functional, and interpersonal adaptation of men to prostate cancer. DESIGN: Prospective, random assignment to experimental or control treatments. SETTING: Urban New Jersey. SAMPLE: 17 men diagnosed with prostate cancer within four weeks of study entry. Mean age was 66 years (range = 51-78); 59% were Caucasian, 35% were African American, and 6% were American Indian. METHODS: Subjects in the experimental group received telephone social support over a 12-month period in addition to education via mailed resource kits. The control group received education through mailed resource kits only. The Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy Scale-General Physical, Emotional, Functional, and Social/Family Well-Being subscales; Symptom Experience Scale-Prostate; and the Relationship Change Scale were administered initially and at the end of each of the three phases; the International Index of Erectile Function Scale was administered at the end of each of the three phases. Qualitative information was gathered throughout and at the conclusion of the study. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Physiologic, emotional, functional, and social adaptation to prostate cancer. FINDINGS: Results were somewhat more favorable for the experimental group on all outcome measures; however, differences were not statistically significant. Structured interviews with 14 of 17 subjects revealed that telephone social support and education were effective in increasing adaptation to prostate cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the lack of a significant difference between the experimental and treatment groups in this small sample of men, analysis of trends and interview feedback indicated that telephone social support, in addition to education through a mailed resource kit, has the potential to be beneficial by increasing access to supportive services. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Telephone social support when supplementing patient education may assist men in adapting during the year following a prostate cancer diagnosis.

Aged↗
PubMed2004

A case study of telephone interpersonal counseling for women with breast cancer and their partners.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To present a case study of one woman with breast cancer and her partner to provide a firsthand account of an innovative telephone interpersonal counseling intervention. DATA SOURCES: Journal articles, book chapters, research data, and transcriptions of telephone counseling sessions. DATA SYNTHESIS: Substantial evidence exists that face-to-face psychosocial interventions improve psychological adjustment and health-related quality of life for patients with cancer. Yet psychosocial interventions are not offered routinely, and many patients with cancer do not use face-to-face counseling mechanisms. The telephone may be an innovative and effective method of delivering interventions, and telephone-delivered interpersonal counseling may be an especially effective intervention for women with breast cancer and their partners. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the fact that the telephone counseling occurred over a brief period of time, the woman and her partner in this case study reported substantial positive changes in their own distress (e.g., symptoms such as depression and anxiety) and the nature of their relationships with each other and their children. This is precisely the effect that would be predicted by interpersonal theories of psychological distress. These results were not atypical for other women and their partners who participated in the study. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: Family members play a significant role in supporting women through the breast cancer experience; thus, nurses should assess the emotional distress of both partners during the course of treatment and, if needed, provide critical education and referral to psychosocial interventions. This woman and her partner clearly benefited from the intervention, resulting in improved symptom management and quality of life. Although this intervention requires additional training in the advanced practice nursing role, some techniques of the intervention can be used by all nurses, regardless of specialty training.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed2001

Participants' perceptions of a peer-helper, telephone-based social support intervention for melanoma patients.

This descriptive study investigated perceptions of a peer-helper, telephone-based, social support intervention for melanoma patients receiving immunotherapy. Participants were 59 male and female Stage 3 or4 melanoma patients (helpees) at a Comprehensive Cancer Center and 29 former patients (helpers). Helpers were matched with helpees about to begin immunotherapy based on the site of the melanoma, age, and, when possible, biological sex. The intervention consisted of 2 required telephone contacts initiated by the helper before the helpee's first and second immunotherapy treatments. The reactions to this social support intervention were assessed using surveys and telephone interviews with both open- and closed-ended questions. Results indicated that (a) helpees became more sensitive and open to available social support in their environment; (b) helpers and helpees thought the intervention was effective; and (c) the telephone, as a medium for providing support, was a satisfactory substitute for face-to-face interaction. Limitations of the study and future directions for telephone-based support programs for melanoma patients are discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2006

Nurse-led telephone consultation and outpatient local anaesthetic abortion: a pilot project.

OBJECTIVES: The study objectives were to improve access to earlier and safer abortion and to offer women a wider choice of method of termination of pregnancy (TOP). METHODS: The study comprised two pilot projects conducted in a teaching hospital to assess the feasibility of (1) a telephone booking clinic and (2) a local anaesthetic outpatient surgical termination of pregnancy (LA-STOP) service. The main outcome measures were the uptake of services by referrers and patients, staff acceptability and cost. RESULTS: Demand from referrers for the telephone booking clinic was greater than could be accommodated by the service. Telephone consultation was popular with patients as it was carried out at their convenience in their homes, and with staff as it reduced clinic assessment time. Some staff members felt that consulting over the telephone affected their assessment of the patient's emotional status. Outpatient LA-STOP seemed well accepted by both staff and patients as it offered patients a convenient and safe method of early abortion. A preliminary costing indicated a net saving plus increased service capacity. CONCLUSIONS: The pilots suggest that the introduction of a telephone booking clinic and LA-STOP service into existing hospital services is feasible and cost effective. Further research is required to evaluate the potential for reducing waiting times and the gestations at which terminations are carried out.

Abortion, Induced↗
PubMed1996

Promoting abstinence among relapsed chronic smokers: the effect of telephone support.

OBJECTIVES: The present study used telephone support both to sustain abstinence and to encourage renewed quit attempts in smokers who had completed an intensive smoking cessation clinic. METHODS: Subjects were hard-core smokers (n = 1083) who had attended a multisession cessation clinic. They were then assigned randomly to receive telephone support (intervention calls 3, 9, and 21 months after the targeted cessation clinic quit date) or no further intervention. RESULTS: In the intervention condition, subjects who relapsed were significantly more likely to resume abstinence (that is, to recycle) than those in the comparison condition at follow-up (6 months: 17.8% vs 11.3%; 24 months: 25.7% vs 18.2%). Telephone support was not effective in preventing relapse, and overall differences in abstinence outcome were not significant. CONCLUSIONS: The major hypothesis of the current study--that telephone support would enhance the resumption of abstinence--received partial support. However, there was no evidence either of an overall treatment effect or of an effect in preventing relapse. Telephone outreach may be more effective in the context of self-help or other less intensive interventions.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Patterns of telephone use among nursing home residents.

There is convincing evidence that nursing home residents who have more visitors fare better than those who have fewer visitors. However, as many as one third of all individuals living in nursing homes have virtually no visitors. The purpose of this study was to address this concern by examining telephone use in older adults living in nursing homes, and evaluating the potential of telephone communications as a means of social support for this at-risk group. Using a recording device activated each time the receiver was picked up, the research team "listened in" on the telephone conversations of three nursing home residents (aged 76, 79, and 92) for a period of 1 week. The transcripts revealed 56 minutes of actual conversation during the week (10, 21, and 25 minutes, respectively), most often with family or longtime friends living out of town. Each resident laughed aloud more than once per minute. The telephone conversations provided the residents with vivid glimpses of life outside the walls of their facility and appeared to help them stay connected with their family and friends. The findings support further study of the telephone as a way to sustain authentic social support in long-term care populations.

Aged↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The effects of a telephone-based intervention on weight loss.

PURPOSE: To evaluate minimal-contact and telephone-assisted weight-loss programs for overweight persons. DESIGN: Participants were randomized to a minimal-contact group or one of two telephone-assisted weight-loss groups. All participants attended two group-based behavioral weight-loss classes and received written educational materials and diaries. For the subsequent 24 weeks, the minimal-contact group received no contact and the telephone-assisted group members received weekly calls to monitor their weight, food intake, and exercise. SETTING: Baseline educational sessions and data collection were conducted at a university site. SUBJECTS: Sixty-four healthy subjects (4 men) who were from 120% to 150% of ideal weight and were 25 to 55 years of age participated in the study. MEASURES: The major outcome of interest was change in measured weight over a 24-week period. Data on calories expended in exercise, dietary intake, and demographics were also gathered at baseline and 24 weeks. RESULTS: Weight loss did not differ significantly by treatment. Unexpectedly, the minimal-contact group lost almost twice as much weight as the telephone-assisted groups (12.7 vs 7.9 lb). CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be an audience for low-contact and telephone-assisted weight-loss programs, and such programs can be delivered easily. However, because the data show only modest weight-loss success, work should continue to identify the optimal content and design of such interventions.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Measuring pediatric immunization status in a managed care organization: agreement between medical charts and parent telephone interviews.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the agreement between pediatric immunization data obtained from medical charts and data provided by parents during telephone interviews and to assess the reliability of immunization information provided during parent telephone interviews. DESIGN: Medical charts reviews and telephone interviews with parents. SETTING: Prudential HealthCare. PARTICIPANTS: Children sampled for the 1993 HEDIS study and the parents of those children (n = 356). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Overall agreement between immunization data obtained from medical charts and data provided by parents during telephone interviews. RESULTS: Agreement between immunization data obtained from medical charts and data provided in parent telephone interviews varies from poor to good if the parent refers to a shot record during the interview. Agreement between the two data sources is better with single dose vaccines (i.e., 1 MMR) than multiple dose vaccines (i.e., 4 DTP). Although parents tend to report fewer immunizations than are indicated in the child's medical chart, the medical charts in this study contained too many vaccine omissions to be considered reliable "gold standards" of vaccine receipt. Parents who refer to a shot record when providing information about pediatric immunizations provide reliable data (r = .8807-1.0). CONCLUSION: When measuring completion of the immunization series, especially among parents who do not have access to a shot record, medical chart reviews remain the better approach in the managed care setting.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1999

Telephone adaptation of the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam (3MS). The Cache County Study.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the concurrent validity of a newly developed telephone adaptation of the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam. BACKGROUND: Longitudinal studies of cognition may be advantaged by availability of assessment instruments that can be used over the telephone, as well as in person. METHOD: Subjects were 263 noninstitutionalized elderly residents of a rural community in southern Idaho, aged 65 to 93, who had little or no cognitive difficulty. At an average interval of four weeks, we administered the Modified Mini-Mental State Exam (3MS) and the newly adapted Telephone Modified Mini-Mental State Exam (T3MS). Order of administration was randomly assigned. RESULTS: Agreement between scores on the two instruments was good (r = 0.82, p < 0.001). When we applied various cutoff scores to the instruments, thereby generating assignments of individuals to "screen positive" and "screen negative" groups, the percent agreement in screening results ranged from 80% to 96% as we reduced the cutoff scores from 90 to 74 (100 points possible). CONCLUSIONS: At least among subjects without major cognitive syndromes, the Telephone Modified Mini-Mental State Exam provides a reasonable substitute for the more costly in-person 3MS. The telephone instrument should now be tested over a broader range of cognitive abilities in order to assess its validity in more impaired subjects, e.g., by studying an institutionalized sample.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

Reproducibility of medical information obtained via the telephone vs personal interview.

The Motherisk [corrected] Program, a teratogenic information service, conducts patient interviews over the telephone as well as in a clinic setting. In both instances, medical information and exposure history is obtained from the patient, including such items as pregnancy history, drug exposure, alcohol and smoking habits. It occurred on several occasions that the clinic interviewer remarked that the same patient had volunteered information to them, that differed from the information documented on the intake telephone form. The objective of the study was to establish the levels of agreement in the documentation, between these two forms of interviews. Two groups of 100 paired telephone and clinic forms were randomly selected from our data base, 1990-1991 and 1996-1997. These two groups were chosen to assess if there were any differences over a five year time period. Statistical calculations were performed using the Kappa statistic, a method that measures agreement. Kappa scores indicated high reproducibility for both pregnancy and smoking history, good reproducibility for medical history, marginal-good for exposures (although excellent agreement was found for the primary drug of concern) and marginal-good for alcohol information. Overall, agreement was superior in the 1990-1991 group. There were marked differences in consistency, between the information recorded on the telephone form and the clinic form, most specifically relating to secondary exposures and alcohol history. It suggests that a person to person interview yields a more complete medical history than a telephone interview.

Alcohol Drinking↗
PubMedDate not supplied

An inquiry into chiropractors' intention to treat adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a telephone survey.

BACKGROUND: The primary aim of this study was to (1) determine the clinical management approach of practicing chiropractors with regard to patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and (2) measure the response rate of a telephone survey. METHODS: A survey instrument was developed and pretested, and a case-specific clinical vignette was generated for a hypothetical typical 12-year-old girl with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. The instrument addressed 3 domains: the specific management of idiopathic scoliosis, elements guiding the general selection of treatment recommendations, and demographics of respondents. The sample frame consisted of 62,000 US chiropractors, of whom 165 were randomly selected for the survey sample. Interviews were conducted by telephone through use of the tested survey instrument. RESULTS: The response rate was 69% (114/165). Of the 51 nonrespondents, 15 did not have a listed business telephone number and 24 were not in active practice. The response rate of those who met the inclusion criteria (practicing chiropractor with a listed telephone number) was 90% (114/126). The gender, chiropractic college, and years in practice of respondents in this survey were similar to those of respondents in 3 other national surveys. In general, the respondents would provide 6 months of "intensive" chiropractic therapy, then follow the patient for 4 years (near skeletal maturity). Eighty-two percent of respondents named diversified technique as their primary adjustive treatment, 87% would use exercise, and 30% would use electric muscle stimulation as an adjunct to manual therapy. CONCLUSION: Most surveyed chiropractors would use similar methods (frequency and length of treatment, manipulation technique, and exercise) in the treatment of patients with adolescent idiopathic scoliosis. A high response rate to a national survey can be achieved through use of telephone contact.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

A telephone needs assessment for potential high utilizers.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: We conducted a telephone needs assessment of patients at risk for high utilization of health services to determine the type of intervention that might be most responsive to their needs. METHODS: Family practice patients who were classified as at high risk based on self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQOL), age, and gender received a structured telephone interview to ask about their health problems, difficulties with their health care, and types of help programs that might be useful to them. RESULTS: Of 867 adult patients randomly selected as eligible for the study, 352 completed the Duke Health Profile to measure HRQOL, 122 were classified at risk for high utilization, and 104 were interviewed by telephone. Patient-reported health problems were similar to provider-reported problems. High-risk patients reported difficulties receiving help from the clinic on issues of communication and logistics (43.9%), limitations of clinic facilities and services (26.3%), and financial concerns (26.3%). Of the highest risk patients, 45.8% expressed willingness to participate in help programs conducted over the telephone. CONCLUSIONS: Many high-risk patients might benefit from participation in a telephone intervention program. A future study is needed to measure the effectiveness of such a program to improve utilization of health services.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Wireless telephones and hearing aids: an overview.

Wireless telephones are becoming increasingly common and will be more so in the future. Unfortunately, many are unusable with hearing aids and may actively interfere with the normal use of hearing aids because of the electromagnetic interference (EMI) generated by wireless telephones. The EMI generated by digital wireless telephones is much greater than that of analog wireless telephones. More research and design work needs to be done before wireless telephones can be considered accessible to people who use hearing aids.

Hearing Aids↗