Reaching out to the suicidal in Thailand.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Community-Institutional Relations↗
SEARCH · Search PubMed
Results for “Hotlines”
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.
The New Forest Suicide Prevention Initiative (NFSPI).
A retrospective suicide study revealed that the Forestry Commission car parks in the New Forest in southern England were a previously unrecognized magnet for nonlocal suicides, attracting as high a proportion of "visitors" (35/43 in 1993-97) as among suicides who jumped from the cliffs at the infamous Beachy Head (39/48 in 1993-97). Over 95% of the car park suicides died from car exhaust gas poisoning. A multiagency initiative aimed to reduce the number of suicides in the 140 New Forest car parks where restricting access was impossible, and environmental issues paramount. Signs displaying the Samaritans' national telephone number were erected in the 26 car parks in which 50% of the car park suicides had occurred. Numbers, location, and residence of all car park deaths were monitored for 3 years. Corresponding changes in other forest registration districts were also monitored. During the 3-year intervention period the number of car park suicides fell significantly from 10/year, 1988-1997, to 3.3/year. The average annual total number of suicides in the New Forest registration district also decreased. No significant changes were found in comparable forest districts. The number of suicides in the New Forest car parks remained low during the 2 years following the evaluation.
Cause of Death↗
Self-help quit smoking interventions: effects of self-help materials, social support instructions, and telephone counseling.
Smokers requesting self-help materials for smoking cessation (N = 2,021) were randomized to receive (a) an experimental self-quitting guide emphasizing nicotine fading and other nonaversive behavioral strategies, (b) the same self-quitting guide with a support guide for the quitter's family and friends, (c) self-quitting and support guides along with four brief counselor calls, or (d) a control guide providing motivational and quit tips and referral to locally available guides and programs. Subjects were predominantly moderate to heavy smokers with a history of multiple previous quit attempts and treatments. Control subjects achieved quit rates similar to those of smokers using the experimental quitting guide, with fewer behavioral prequitting strategies and more outside treatments. Social support guides had no effect on perceived support for quitting or on 8- and 16-month quit rates. Telephone counseling increased adherence to the quitting protocol and quit rates.
Behavior Therapy↗
Preventing relapse among former smokers: a comparison of minimal interventions through telephone and mail.
This study compared 2 minimal interventions for reducing relapse in ex-smokers. One intervention involved 12-month access to a telephone hot line. In the other intervention, 8 relapse-prevention booklets were mailed to participants over 1 year. The 2 interventions were crossed in a 2 x 2 factorial design, yielding control, hot-line-only, mailings-only, and combined conditions. The criterion of at least 1 week of abstinence at baseline was met by 584 participants, 446 of whom also completed a 12-month assessment. Repeated mailings, but not the hot line, reduced relapse for those participants who had been abstinent for less than 3 months at baseline. At follow-up, 12% of those in the mailings conditions were smoking again compared with 35% in the nonmailing conditions. As predicted, both interventions were effective at attenuating the association between depressive symptoms and poor outcome found in the control condition.
Adult↗
Extended telephone counseling for smoking cessation: does content matter?
Telephone counseling is a popular modality for smoking cessation treatment; however, little attention has been paid to evaluating the efficacy of different contents of calls. This study compared 2 types of proactive telephone calls following a group program. Participants were randomized to receive either: (a) basic content, consisting primarily of support; or (b) enhanced content, tailored to the stage of cessation (still smoking, abstinent, or relapsed) and targeting factors hypothesized to be related to success (motivation, self-efficacy, and negative mood). There was a significant interaction between treatment condition and gender. For men, the enhanced condition produced better abstinence rates through 15 months and lower relapse rates. For women, the basic condition was better. History of depression did not interact with condition.
Adult↗
Emotional distress in nonmetropolitan persons living with HIV disease enrolled in a telephone-delivered, coping improvement group intervention.
The study delineated depressive symptoms and modeled emotional distress in persons living with HIV disease in nonmetropolitan areas of 13 U.S. states. Participants (N=329) were enrolled in a randomized clinical trial of a telephone-delivered, coping improvement group intervention, and 60% reported moderate or severe levels of depressive symptomatology on the Beck Depression Inventory. Structural equation modeling indicated that participants who experienced more severe HIV symptomatology, received less social support, and engaged in more avoidant coping also experienced more emotional distress (a latent construct comprising depressive symptoms and emotional well-being). Greater HIV-related stigma and rejection by family led to more emotional distress, with social support and avoidant coping mediating almost entirely the effects of the former 2 variables. The model accounted for 72% of the variance in emotional distress in nonmetropolitan persons living with HIV disease.
Adaptation, Psychological↗
Self-reported gambling-related suicidality among gambling helpline callers.
Problem gamblers often attribute suicidal ideation or attempts to their gambling. Logistic regression analyses were applied to data from problem gamblers (N = 986) calling a helpline. Problem gamblers reporting gambling-related suicidality (n = 252; 25.6%) were more likely than those denying it (n = 734; 74.4%) to acknowledge family, financial, legal, and mental and substance-related problems. Of problem gamblers acknowledging gambling-related suicidality, those reporting gambling-related suicide attempts (n = 53; 21.5%) were more likely than those denying them (n = 193; 78.5%) to acknowledge gambling-related illegal behaviors, mental health and substance abuse treatment, and family histories of alcohol problems, and were less likely to report prior gambling treatment. The findings suggest that increased gambling severity is associated with gambling-related suicidality.
Adult↗
Reporting noncompliance in the animal facility.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Animal Care Committees↗
NHS direct and access to dental care.
NHS Direct - the nurse-led 24-hour telephone helpline - is the flagship initiative of the 'New NHS'. The scheme is already available to over 19 million people, and is planned to serve 60% of England by the end of 1999 and the whole of the country by the end of 2000. It is intended to revolutionise how and when people access the NHS, particularly out-of-hours. The present government has recently also signalled that NHS Direct should play a key role in rebuilding accessibility to NHS dentistry. Yet many dentists are unaware of its existence, and within the profession there has been little debate regarding its actual or likely future impact on how people access dental care. This article briefly describes the concept and early experiences of NHS Direct, and speculates about its potential impact on how people access dental care.
Community-Institutional Relations↗
Access to NHS dentistry in South Cheshire: a follow up of people using telephone helplines to obtain NHS dental care.
OBJECTIVE: To follow up calls made to NHS Direct and South Cheshire Dental Helpline concerning getting access to an NHS dentist in South Cheshire. DESIGN: Contact details of callers who had consented to a follow up call were passed by helpline staff to a researcher at regular intervals. In a structured interview, callers were asked why they had telephoned the helpline and whether they had subsequently obtained NHS dental care. Follow up calls continued until a total of 200 replies had been gathered, either by telephone or post (for those where telephone contact could not be made). Follow up calls were made between September 2001 and March 2002. RESULTS: During the study period only three callers from South Cheshire contacted NHS Direct with a dental access query and consented to a follow up call, compared with 219 callers to South Cheshire Dental Helpline. Only 10% were not contacted either by telephone or post. A comparison with figures for calls made to South Cheshire Dental Helpline between April 2000 and March 2001 suggests that during the study period a year later the access problem has improved. However, there were still a few areas in South Cheshire where significant numbers of dental access queries were being received. Twenty five per cent of unregistered and 22% of registered callers still felt that they had problems getting access to NHS dental care after using information from the helplines. CONCLUSION: A small but significant number of people in South Cheshire have problems accessing NHS dental care.
Adolescent↗
Out-of-hours dental care.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
After-Hours Care↗
Postkeratoplasty emergency visits--a review of 100 consecutive visits.
PURPOSE: Preoperative counselling for penetrating keratoplasty should include awareness of symptoms and signs of possible complications as early presentation can enhance long-term success. In our corneal transplantation service, all patients are routinely instructed to arrange a same day emergency visit through a dedicated telephone line if they experience any symptoms in eyes that have undergone keratoplasty. This study was designed to evaluate the reason for presentation, management outcome of each visit and the efficiency of the system in management of postkeratoplasty complications. METHODS: A review of 100 consecutive emergency visits by postpenetrating keratoplasty (PKP) patients in a tertiary eye care centre was included. RESULTS: Sixty-two patients with varied preoperative diagnoses presented during the review period. Sixteen visits were within the first month after surgery and 40 visits within the first year. Ten patients (16%) sought consultation more than twice during the study period with one patient presenting five times. Pain and grittiness were the main presenting symptoms (68%). Loose corneal suture (25%) necessitating removal was the most common diagnosis. Sixteen visits resulted in hospital admission for treatment. The graft survived in all patients and the visual acuity was preserved in 95% of our patients. CONCLUSION: Most corneal surgeons educate their patients to seek prompt treatment for symptoms such as redness, sensitivity to light, loss of vision, pain, or any other symptoms in eyes that have undergone keratoplasty. Early intervention of sight threatening complications increases the chance of graft survival and best-obtained vision. This review shows a simple open access system facilitates early presentation and successful management of postgraft complications.
Adolescent↗
Did men with erectile dysfunction discuss their condition with partner and physicians? A survey of men attending a free call information service.
We present data collected among men attending a free call service on information on erectile dysfunction (ED) activated in Italy during the period 1997-1999. Their attitudes towards discussion with their partner and physician about the condition are considered. Each subject, was asked if he was affected by ED (defined as inability to achieve and maintain an erection sufficient for satisfactory sexual performance). In the case of a positive answer, the subject was asked if he had ever discussed his condition with partner or a physician. A total of 12 761 subjects with ED called the service: 7265 (56.9%) reported to have discussed their condition with their partner. The proportion tended to increase with duration of ED, being 47.9% in subjects reporting ED lasting <6 months and 59.9% in those reporting ED lasting >3 y (w(2)(1) trend <0.05). Likewise, the proportion of subjects reporting to have discussed ED with a physician was 50.3% (6416 subjects), being 33.6% in subjects with ED lasting <6 months and 57.9% of those with ED lasting >3 y (w(2)(1) trend, P<0.01).
Adult↗
The effectiveness of personalized smoking cessation strategies for callers to a Quitline service.
AIM: To assess the effectiveness of a program of computer-generated tailored advice for callers to a telephone helpline, and to assess whether it enhanced a series of callback telephone counselling sessions in aiding smoking cessation. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial comparing: (1) untailored self-help materials; (2) computer-generated tailored advice only, and (3) computer-generated tailored advice plus callback telephone counselling. Assessment surveys were conducted at baseline, 3, 6 and 12 months. SETTING: Victoria, Australia. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 1578 smokers who called the Quitline service and agreed to participate. MEASUREMENTS: Smoking status at follow-up; duration of cessation, if quit; use of nicotine replacement therapy; and extent of participation in the callback service. FINDINGS: At the 3-month follow-up, significantly more (chi2(2) = 16.9; P < 0.001) participants in the computer-generated tailored advice plus telephone counselling condition were not smoking (21%) than in either the computer-generated advice only (12%) or the control condition (12%). Proportions reporting not smoking at the 12-month follow-up were 26%, 23% and 22%, respectively (NS) for point prevalence, and for 9 months sustained abstinence; 8.2, 6.0, and 5.0 (NS). In the telephone counselling group, those receiving callbacks were more likely than those who did not to have sustained abstinence at 12 months (10.2 compared with 4.0, P < 0.05). Logistic regression on 3-month data showed significant independent effects on cessation of telephone counselling and use of NRT, but not of computer-generated tailored advice. CONCLUSION: Computer-generated tailored advice did not enhance telephone counselling, nor have any independent effect on cessation. This may be due to poor timing of the computer-generated tailored advice and poor integration of the two modes of advice.
Adolescent↗
Providing psycho-social support by telephone: what is its potential in cancer patients?
This paper provides an overview of the use of supportive telephone interventions in cancer patients. The small number of studies that have been reported to date have demonstrated that such approaches are feasible and well accepted. Current telephone counselling programmes for cancer patients have utilized both one-to-one and group approaches. Given the promise of telephone interventions to provide assistance to patients who may not otherwise receive psycho-social care because of factors such as geographical isolation, physical limitations, or lack of comfort with face-to-face approaches, further development and evaluation of programmes in this area is critically needed. We identify priorities for future research, including determining the most effective ways to deliver telephone interventions, identifying patient groups in which they are most successful, and evaluating cost-effectiveness.
Counseling↗