Effectiveness of Telephone Follow-Up and Counseling in Aftercare for Alcoholism

• Published in: The Journal of Nursing Research Vol. 12; no. 1; pp. 11 - 20
• Main Authors: 洪芬芳(Fen-Fang Horng), 闕可欣(Ke-Hsin Chueh)
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English; Chinese
• Published: 台灣 台灣護理學會 01.03.2004; 臺灣護理學會; Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, Inc
• Subjects: Adult; Aftercare; Aftercare - organization & administration; Alcoholism; Alcoholism - diagnosis; Alcoholism - psychology; Alcoholism - rehabilitation; Ambulatory Care - organization & administration; Attitude to Health; Chi-Square Distribution; Counseling; Counseling - organization & administration; Female; Follow-Up Studies; Health Services Research; Humans; Male; MEDLINE; Needs Assessment; Outcome Assessment (Health Care); Patient Readmission - statistics & numerical data; Program Development; Program Evaluation; Recurrence; Regression Analysis; SCIE; Scopus; Severity of Illness Index; SSCI; Surveys and Questionnaires; Taiwan; Telephone - standards; Telephone follow-up; TSCI; TSSCI; 後續照護; 諮詢; 酒癮; 電話追蹤; Taiwan; alcoholism; counseling; 諮詢; 電話追蹤; 後續照護; aftercare; 酒癮; telephone follow-up
• ISSN: 1682-3141; 1948-965X
• DOI: 10.1097/01.JNR.0000387484.40568.bb

This study investigates the effectiveness of telephone follow-up and counseling for alcoholism outpatients on abstinence, readmission, alcohol consumption, addiction severity and adjustment at three months follow-up. A quasi-experimental pre-post control group design was used. Subjects were recruited from a psychiatric center from March to September 2001 by purposive sampling. 34 cases were studied in each of an experimental and a control group. The structured instruments included an Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and a Progress Evaluation Scale (PES). Data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square, and generalized estimating equation regression analyses. Abstinence rate (p ＜ .05) and adjustment (p ＜ .05) at three months post-discharge were significantly increased in the experimental group. Addiction severity (p ＜ .001) and readmission rate (p ＜ .05) were significantly decreased, whereas decrease in alcohol consumption was not significant. These results showed that the telephone follow-up intervention contributed to better outcomes and demonstrated the importance of aftercare for alcoholism. It is suggested that developing a rehabilitation treatment program should enhance abstinence for alcoholism.