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 505 records · Page 28Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Use of secure e-mail and telephone: psychiatric consultations to accelerate rural health service delivery.

Telemedicine is one strategy to improve the accessibility and quality of specialty healthcare to rural settings. After nearly 10 years of video evaluation of patients in rural primary care, telephone and e-mail physician-to-physician consultations were initiated to supplement video and hasten treatment initiation. This paper proposes a model of using telephone and e-mail consultations before or in place of video consultations, because the latter are not always available or timely. Two cases are presented in depth to delineate clinical, consultation, and health services issues. Early use of telephone appears to accelerate the telepsychiatric consultation and resulted in clinical improvement for patients. Primary care providers (PCPs) appeared satisfied with the process of these consultations. The average duration of consultation was about 10 minutes for each party. Telephone and e-mail consultation appear satisfactory to providers and inexpensive, but need to be further evaluated in terms of clinical, health service, and cost outcomes.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Intimate partner violence prevalence estimation using telephone surveys: understanding the effect of nonresponse bias.

To assess the effect of nonresponse bias in telephone prevalence studies of intimate partner violence, the authors asked women visiting a health center in Albany, New York, during 1998 about their willingness to participate in telephone surveys. Women physically victimized by a male partner were more likely than other women to say they would participate in telephone surveys (66.7% vs. 44.4%, p = 0.03). Among women severely victimized, those living with their partner were less willing to participate than those not cohabiting (45.5% vs. 91.7%, p = 0.03). Including questions about willingness to participate in telephone surveys in studies of other kinds may be a useful method of identifying nonresponse bias.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2001

Telephone prescribing of antibiotics. General practitioners' views and reflections.

BACKGROUND: In this era of increasing problems with resistance, rational prescribing of antibiotics is extremely important. Therefore, rationales for prescribing require analyses. The objective of this study was to explore general practitioners' (GPs') reasons for prescribing antibiotics by telephone. METHODS: Qualitative analysis of semistructured interviews with and observations of GPs in Iceland enquiring about the rationale for prescribing antibiotics was used. Ten GPs were interviewed for 45 min to 2 h each including three who were observed between 3 and 10 h. RESULTS: The GPs generally indicated a restrictive attitude to telephone prescribing, although they all gave examples of their prescribing by telephone. The prescribing was mostly but not always based on some kind of diagnosis. The factors influencing diagnosis and prescribing were largely non-clinical: knowledge of the patients as persons, including their complaint threshold, confidence in their descriptions, the GPs' communication strategies and the travelling distance between patients and GPs. The clinical factors were the patients' description of signs and symptoms and knowledge of their history. Prescriptions not based on diagnosis were 'therapeutic trial' or GP-approved self-medication. Sometimes, the GPs requested to see a patient even though the diagnosis was based on history, signs and symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Multiple factors affected the decision-making process when antibiotics were prescribed by telephone, most of which were non-clinical. The diagnosis, if there was one, was generally presumptive. GPs' general attitudes correlated well with current knowledge but were contrasted by the reality of their daily work conditions.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1999

An automated telephone system for monitoring the functional status of community-residing elders.

We tested the reliability and validity of an automated telephone monitoring system for assessing changes in the functional status of disabled elders living in the community. The sample consisted of 20 adults older than 60 years of age enrolled in a home care program due to functional disabilities. Within a 72-hour period, each participant received, in random order, two automated and one personal telephone functional assessment as well as a home visit assessment by a case manager. The results indicated similarities between the personal and automated telephone assessments, but neither telephone method captured as many impairments as the case manager's home assessment. These findings suggest that the automated system cannot substitute for a case manager's in-home assessment, but it does offer a means to target individuals for additional professional assessment.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed2004

Introductory postcards: do they increase response rate in a telephone survey of older persons?

The purpose of this study was to assess whether contact by mail via an introductory postcard would increase the response rate to a telephone survey in a selected population of 348 people 60 years and older. Of this group, 208 were sent a postcard introducing the study and informing them that someone would call in the next 1-2 weeks to conduct a telephone interview. The remaining sample of 140 did not receive the introductory postcard. Amongst the potential participants who were contacted and able to participate (n = 240), the response rate for completed interview was 58.0% for those sent a postcard and 42.3% for those who were not. The refusal rate was 25.3% (postcard sent) and 37.2% (not sent a postcard). When the outcome of contact is collapsed to two categories, 'agreed to participate' and 'refusal', the response rate to participate was 73.5% (sent a postcard) and 59.0% (not sent a postcard) (chi(2) 5.14, d.f. 1, sign. 0.023). The response rate amongst those who recall being sent a postcard rose to 86.0%. Whether agreeing to participate or refusing to be involved in the survey was dependent on being sent an introductory postcard. The conclusion is that mailing a postcard prior to the first telephone contact increases the participation rates of older persons in a telephone survey at very little extra cost (A$0.60 per person).

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Testing reminder and motivational telephone calls to increase screening mammography: a randomized study.

BACKGROUND: Prospective randomized trials have demonstrated that motivational telephone calls increase adherence to screening mammography. To better understand the effects of motivational calls and to maximize adherence, we conducted a randomized trial among women aged 50-79 years. METHODS: We created a stratified random sample of 5062 women due for mammograms within the Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, including 4099 women with prior mammography and 963 without it. We recruited and surveyed 3743 (74%) of the women before mailing a recommendation. After 2 months, 1765 (47%) of the 3743 women had not scheduled a mammogram and were randomly assigned to one of three intervention groups: a reminder post-card group (n = 590), a reminder telephone call group (n = 585), and a motivational telephone call addressing barriers group (n = 590). The telephone callers could schedule mammography. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CI) for documented mammography use by 1 year. RESULTS: Women who received reminder calls were more likely to get mammograms (HR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.6-2.4) than women who were mailed postcards. The motivational and reminder calls (average length, 8.5 and 3.1 minutes, respectively) had equivalent effects (HR = 0.97; 95% CI = 0.8-1.2). After we controlled for the intervention effect, women with prior mammography (n = 1277) were much more likely to get a mammogram (HR = 3.4; 95% CI = 2.7-4.3) than women without prior use (n = 488). Higher income, but not race or more education, was associated with higher adherence. CONCLUSIONS: Reminding women to schedule an appointment was as efficacious as addressing barriers. Simple intervention groups should be included as comparison groups in randomized trials so that we better understand more complex intervention effects.

Affect↗
PubMed1984

Quality of response in different population groups in mail and telephone surveys.

Mail and telephone survey methods, with follow-up by other methods, can provide high response rates. However, it is not clear whether different population groups provide responses of different quality, thus creating risk of biased comparisons. A closely related problem is whether proxy response adequately substitutes for self-response. This study addressed these issues in the context of parallel mail and telephone health surveys carried out in Montreal. In the telephone survey, proxy respondents provided lower estimates of morbidity and health care utilization than self-respondents; in the mail survey, there was no difference between proxy and self-response. Response validity was assessed by comparing reported physician visits with those recorded by the government-run universal health insurance plan. In general, mail responses were more valid than telephone responses. In both methods, there were suggestive but not persuasive differences in validity among sociodemographic subgroups. In both methods, those reporting illness or medication use had less underreporting of physician visits than those not reporting such things.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

A comparison of computer-assisted and hard copy telephone interviewing.

In computer-assisted telephone interviewing, questions are displayed on a computer screen, and responses are entered directly into a computerized data file. In 1981-1982, a randomized trial of computer-assisted telephone interviewing, compared with telephone interviewing with responses directly recorded on printed questionnaires, was carried out. The respondents were surrogates for 400 white Florida residents who died in 1979 and were randomly selected from a death certificate-based case-control study of colorectal cancer. Outcomes examined included participation rate after initial phone contact, length of interview, recorded number of comments, recorded number of probes, unresolved "don't know" responses, and the interviewer's evaluation of the quality of the interview. The computer-assisted telephone interviewing system resulted in the 25-30-minute interviews lasting, on the average, 3.4 minutes (14%) longer. The average number of comments decreased from 5.5 to 4.1 (a 25% difference) and probes from 10.2 to 8.3 (a 19% difference) in the computer-assisted interviews. These differences were markedly smaller than the differences noted between individual interviewers.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Reliability of ratings on the Glasgow Outcome Scales from in-person and telephone structured interviews.

OBJECTIVE: To determine test-retest reliability and interrater reliability for structured interviews for the Glasgow Outcome Scale (GOS) using in-person and telephone contact. METHODS: Study 1: Thirty head-injured patients were interviewed face-to-face and then reinterviewed by telephone a few days later by the same rater. Study 2: Fifty-six head-injured patients were interviewed by telephone and then face-to-face interviews were carried out by a different person up to 1 month later. Agreement between ratings on the GOS and the extended GOS (GOSE) in each of the studies was assessed using the kappa statistic weighted with quadratic weights. RESULTS: Values of kappa(w) for the test-retest reliability study were.92 for both GOS and GOSE, and for interrater reliability study were.85 for the GOS and.84 for the GOSE. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicate good test-retest and interrater reliability for the structured interviews. In most circumstances a structured interview over the telephone can provide a reliable assessment of the GOS, and can safely be substituted for in person contact.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Development of a telephone follow-up program for individuals following traumatic brain injury.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the development of a telephone follow-up program that addresses the needs of survivors of traumatic brain injury (TBI) and their families in the year following injury. The process of developing the program is reviewed from the initial steps of identifying needs through final implementation of the program. PARTICIPANTS: Eighty-four TBI survivors with moderate to severe injuries and their families. RESULTS: Descriptive statistics are presented including number of contacts, areas of concern for participants, and the types of interventions conducted. Case examples are provided to illustrate the impact of the telephone follow-up program. CONCLUSION: This project demonstrated the feasibility of using the telephone as a means of providing information and support during the first year after moderate to severe traumatic brain injury. Telephone follow-up may enhance service provision for persons with TBI, especially those with a lack of transportation or geographic isolation.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Comparability of telephone and household breast cancer screening surveys with differing response rates.

We compared telephone and household surveys as methods for obtaining information about breast cancer screening. The study population was comprised of women age 40 years or older who were permanent residents of two large areas of Florida. We contacted women using random digit dialing for the telephone survey. We used a stratified multistage design for the household survey. Response rates were 49% (telephone) and 77% (household). Distributions of most screening (mammography, clinical examination, and breast self-examination) and demographic variables were comparable for the two surveys; income was higher in the telephone survey. Both surveys underestimated the proportion of older women, based on 1990 Census data.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

The New Zealand Partner Relations Survey: methodological results of a national telephone survey.

OBJECTIVE: To implement and evaluated a national survey of sexual behaviour using computer-assisted telephone interviewing (CATI). DESIGN: A two-stage stratified national sample survey in which households were selected by random digit-dialing (RDD), with a single eligible interviewee per selected household, followed by subsample surveys of non-contacts and refusals to determine eligibility. METHODS: A 15-minute questionnaire based on the Global Programme on AIDS (GPA)/World Health Organization (WHO) protocol was administered by telephone to a nationally representative sample of 2361 respondents in the 18-54-year age group. RESULTS: The overall response rate was 63%, but lower in the cities, in the 18-24 age group, and among men. Three-quarters of surveyed non-contacts, and a quarter of re-surveyed refusals, did not meet the eligibility criteria for the study. Less than 20% of refusals cited the subject matter of the survey as the reason for refusal. Item non-response (< 1%) increased with question sensitivity, and varied by respondent age, ethnicity and partnership status. Men reported twice as many adult lifetime partners as women. CONCLUSIONS: The GPA/WHO protocol can be successfully adapted to administration by telephone, with adequate response rates and exceptionally low levels of item non-response. CATI is a cost-effective method for collecting national information on sexual behaviour in countries where there is a high level of telephone ownership. Used in conjunction with RDD, it can overcome problems of sample design in settings where there is no comprehensive population-sampling frame. Checks on item sensitivity and partner estimates suggest that acceptable levels of reliability can also be achieved.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Ambulatory obstetrical care: strategies to reduce telephone liability.

The telephone will become the centerpiece of ambulatory care services. As such, a pertinent aspect of office procedures will necessarily include a protocol to manage and document telephone calls. Encourage your office staff to use good telephone manners, as listed in Table 5. The net result should be a reduction in telephone liability risks and an enhanced reputation for your office.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1991

Telephone use by patients fitted with the Ineraid cochlear implant.

A survey of telephone use by 66 patients fitted with the Ineraid cochlear prosthesis revealed that 51% initiate telephone calls (most calls are to family or friends) and that 66% answer the telephone. Of the patients who answer the telephone, 49% indicated that they could identify the gender and/or age of the caller most of the time, 27% could identify a familiar caller most of the time, and 48% indicated that they could understand a conversation most of the time if speaking to a familiar speaker about a familiar topic. Understanding dropped rapidly as the speaker and topic became unfamiliar.

Cochlear Implants↗
PubMed2005

Results from the Dutch speech-in-noise screening test by telephone.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the study was to implement a previously developed automatic speech-in-noise screening test by telephone (Smits, Kapteyn, & Houtgast, 2004), introduce it nationwide as a self-test, and analyze the results. DESIGN: The test was implemented on an interactive voice response system, which can handle multiple lines. The test measures the speech reception threshold in speech-shaped noise by telephone (SRTTn) in an adaptive procedure using digit triplets as speech material. The test result is given as either good, insufficient, or poor. Questions about age, sex, and subjective rating of hearing were included in the test. The test was introduced as the National Hearing test and publicity was generated. In the first 4 mo, 65,924 people took the initiative and dialed the test. The possibility to use mobile phones was disabled because of significant worse results (0.7 dB) with that telephone type. RESULTS: After applying exclusion criteria, results from 39,968 callers were analyzed. Seventy-five percent of the callers were older than 44 yr of age. Starting at about 45 yr of age, there is an increase in SRTTn with increasing age. SRTTns for men are significantly worse than SRTTns for women for age groups 50 to 54 and higher. Older people tend to rate their hearing better than might be expected from their SRTTn. However, after converting the mean SRTTn values per age group and per subjective score to percentile values, the values remain constant across age groups. Mean measurement error was within 1 dB. These errors increase with increasing SRTTn. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows the implementation and results from a functional hearing screening test by telephone. The test can be done in about 3 minutes, 30 sec, including introductory text, explanation of the test procedure, test result, and recommendation for audiological evaluation. The high number of callers implies that the test is probably fulfilling the need for a functional hearing screening test and has enhanced public awareness about hearing loss.

Auditory Threshold↗
PubMed2005

Agreement between telephone and in-person delivery of a structured interview for anxiety disorders in children.

OBJECTIVE: The current study determined the viability of using the telephone to facilitate assessment of children using the Anxiety Disorders Interview Schedule for children for DSM-IV (ADIS-C-IV). METHOD: Diagnoses established during telephone administration of the ADIS-C-IV-Parent version were compared with diagnoses obtained during standard administration of the ADIS-C-IV using both Child and Parent versions. Seventy-three children and their parents participated in counterbalanced, repeated assessments. RESULTS: The level of agreement between telephone and standard administration for principal diagnosis (kappa=0.86), individual anxiety disorders (kappa=0.63-0.86), and other disorders (kappa=0.79-0.91) were in the good to excellent range. Additionally, agreement on overall suitability for an anxiety treatment program was excellent (kappa=0.97). CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate that telephone administration of the ADIS-C-IV is a valid way to differentiate children who have anxiety disorders from those who have no disorder or other disorders, providing a less resource-demanding alternative to face-to-face assessment.

Anxiety Disorders↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Telephone biotelemetry.

This paper is concerned with telephone biotelemetry, such as in the transmission of ECGs or EEGs through telephone networks. It briefly describes the applications of biotelemetry and some research activities in the field. Spectral characteristics and bandwidths of ECG and EEG, and some methods for transmitting these physiological signals through telephone lines are discussed. Shortcomings in the existing telephone biotelemetry systems are identified and some possible solutions to these problems are investigated. The paper is written as a tutorial article directed primarily at clinical engineers, biomedical equipment technicians and other health-care professionals who are interested in the subject.

Electrocardiography↗
PubMed1976

Mailed versus telephoned appointment reminders to reduce broken appointments in a hospital outpatient department.

This study compared mail, telephone, and control strategies to reduce the rate of broken appointments in a pediatric outpatient department. Based on 1,039 randomly assigned appointments, the mail strategy had a broken appointment rate of 29.1 per cent, the telephone strategy of 25.3 per cent, and the control of 44.2 per cent. Both strategies were significantly effective, but the difference between them was not significant. Patients without telephones had a higher rate of broken appointments than patients with telephones. Mailed reminders are the more cost-effective intervention.

Appointments and Schedules↗