The present study used an automated telephone system to call women of a Health Plan who had previously not complied with prevention measures for Pap and mammogram screenings and encouraged them to seek the appropriate screening tests.
Method. 3063 women members were identified through historical claims records as not having the necessary screening within the age appropriate guidelines. One control group consisted of women we attempted to call but did not reach with a prevention message. The other control group was members whose records did not contain phone numbers.
Results. Of the 3063 women in the original sample, 599 either did not have phone numbers or the number was disconnected. Of the remaining 2464 members with working phone numbers, 919 (37.3 %) women heard the screening message. Chi Square analyses comparing members who heard the message about getting an appropriate screening against those who did not hear the message revealed that the automated phone calls statistically significantly increased the number of screenings in all groups except the group needing both a Pap and mammogram test. In the combination group, only the mammograms showed a significant increase after hearing the screening message.
Conclusions. The method impacts behavior but does not reach all members either because they do not have valid phone numbers or the target member does not come to the phone after several attempts.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of the session, the participant (learner) in this session will be able to: 1. Describe a simple telephony system for making screening calls 2. Evaluate the effectiveness of telephony in an outgoing call screening application 3. Understand the shortcomings of such a system
Keywords: Telehealth, Cancer Screening
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I have a significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.
Relationship: I own the copyright for the computer program that was used in this study.