The effect of a telephone counseling intervention on self-rated health of cardiac patients

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a telephone-based intervention on psychological distress among patients with cardiac illness. METHODS: We recruited hospitalized patients surviving an acute coronary syndrome with scores on the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) indicating mild to severe depression and/or anxiety at 1 month postdischarge. Recruited patients were randomized into either an intervention or control group. Intervention patients received up to six 30-minute telephone-counseling sessions focused on identifying cardiac-related fears. Control patients received usual care. For both groups, we collected patients\u27 responses to the HADS and to the Global Improvement (CGI-I) subscale of the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) Scale at baseline and at 2, 3, and 6 months postbaseline using Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) technologies. We used mixed-effects analysis to estimate patients\u27 changes in CGI-I measures over the three time points of data collection postbaseline. RESULTS: We enrolled 100 patients, and complete CGI-I measures were collected for 79 study patients. The mean age was 60 years (standard deviation = 10), and 67% of the patients were male. A mixed-effects analysis confirmed that patients in the intervention group had significantly greater improvements in self-rated health (SRH) between baseline and month 3 than the control group (p = .01). Between month 3 and month 6, no significant differences in SRH improvements were observed between the control and intervention groups. CONCLUSIONS: Study patients reported greater SRH improvement resulting from the telephone-based intervention compared with control subjects. Future research should include additional outcome measures to determine the effect of changes in SRH on patients with comorbid physical and emotional disorders

Improving Psychologic Adjustment to Chronic Illness in Cardiac Patients: The Role of Depression and Anxiety

BACKGROUND: Poor mood adjustment to chronic medical illness is often accompanied by decrements in function. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of a telephone-based intervention for psychologic distress and functional impairment in cardiac illness. DESIGN: Randomized, controlled trial. METHODS: We recruited survivors of acute coronary syndromes using the Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale (HADS) with scores indicative of mood disturbances at 1-month postdischarge. Recruited patients were randomized to experimental or control status. Intervention patients received 6 30-minute telephone counseling sessions to identify and address illness-related fears and concerns. Control patients received usual care. Patients' responses to the HADS and the Workplace Social Adjustment Scale (WSAS) were collected at baseline, 2, 3, and 6 months using interactive voice recognition technology. At baseline, the PRIME-MD was used to establish diagnosis of depression. We used mixed effects regression to study changes in outcomes. RESULTS: We enrolled 100 patients. Mean age was 60; 67% of the patients were male. Findings confirmed that the intervention group had a 27% improvement in depression symptoms (P=.05), 27% in anxiety (P=.02), and a 38% improvement in home limitations (P=.04) compared with controls. Symptom improvement tracked those for WSAS measures of home function (P=.04) but not workplace function. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention had a moderate effect on patient's emotional and functional outcomes that were observed during a critical period in patients' lives. Patient convenience, ease of delivery, and the effectiveness of the intervention suggest that the counseling can help patients adjust to chronic illness