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Telephone Enhancement of Long‐term Engagement (TELE) in Continuing Care for Substance Abuse Treatment: A NIDA Clinical Trials Network (CTN) study
Author(s) -
Hubbard Robert L.,
Leimberger Jeffrey D.,
Haynes Louise,
Patkar Ashwin A.,
Holter John,
Liepman Michael R.,
Lucas Kathi,
Tyson Breque,
Day Tammy,
Thorpe Elizabeth A.,
Faulkner Briar,
Hasson Albert
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
the american journal on addictions
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.997
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1521-0391
pISSN - 1055-0496
DOI - 10.1080/10550490701641678
Subject(s) - attendance , phone , randomized controlled trial , medicine , intervention (counseling) , substance abuse , substance abuse treatment , medical emergency , family medicine , emergency medicine , psychiatry , linguistics , philosophy , surgery , economics , economic growth
The TELE study examined the feasibility and potential efficacy of phone calls to patients after discharge from short‐ term inpatient and residential substance abuse treatment programs to encourage compliance with continuing care plans. After review of their continuing care plans, 339 patients from four programs were randomized either to receive calls or to have no planned contact. Ninety‐two percent of patients randomized to receive calls received at least one call. No difference was found between groups in self‐reported attendance at one or more outpatient counseling sessions after discharge (p = .89). When program records of all participants were examined, those receiving calls had a greater likelihood of documented attendance (48%) than those not called (37%). Results were not statistically significant (p < .003) because of the Hochberg correction for multiple tests. While the phone calls were feasible, the lack of clear evidence of efficacy of the calls suggests the need for further investigation of the role of telephone intervention to encourage compliance and improve outcomes.