Gombeski 1993.

Methods	DETAILS OF STUDY AIM OF INTERVENTION: to resolve past and current problems, to provide more personalized care, to increase patient satisfaction and thereby increasing the likelihood they will return and recommend the institution to family and friends and so establishing a competitive advantage over local health providers who do not have such a program. AIM OF STUDY: it was hypothesized that calling discharged patients 3 weeks after leaving the hospital would provide an opportunity to correct any problems, offer additional service, and reinforce the hospital's concern for the patient's medical recovery. STUDY DESIGN: CCT. METHODS OF RECRUITMENT OF PARTICIPANTS: all patients discharged from a surgical unit were identified through the hospital's database shortly after they left the hospital. INCLUSION CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION IN STUDY: discharged from surgery department (general surgery or otorhinolaryngology)/ had at least one overnight stay in the hospital/not being readmitted before scheduled telephone follow‐up. EXCLUSION CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION IN STUDY: international patients/ being discharged to a nursing home. INFORMED CONSENT OBTAINED? no. ETHICAL APPROVAL? unclear. FUNDING: unclear. ASSESSMENT OF STUDY QUALITY ALLOCATION CONCEALMENT: unclear. EPOC‐ QUALITY CRITERIA 2002: C.high risk of bias. METHOD OF GENERATING RANDOMISATION SCHEDULE: not specified. METHOD OF CONCEALMENT OF ALLOCATION: not specified. BLINDING: ·PARTICIPANTS: no ·PROVIDER/S: no ·OUTCOME ASSESSOR/S: no INTENTION TO TREAT ANALYSIS: not stated BASELINE COMPARABILITY OF INTERVENTION AND CONTROL GROUPS: not stated. STATISTICAL METHODS AND THEIR APPROPRIATENESS: t‐test (probably). CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT: not stated.
Participants	DESCRIPTION: surgery patients. GEOGRAPHIC LOCATION: USA. SETTING: discharged home from an acute care setting. NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS: ELIGIBLE: 153? RANDOMISED TO INTERVENTION: 78. RANDOMISED TO CONTROL: 75. INCLUDED IN ANALYSIS INTERVENTION GROUP: 78. INCLUDED IN ANALYSIS CONTROL GROUP: 75. AGE: RANGE OR MEAN (SD): ? GENDER (% MALE): ? ETHNICITY: unclear. PRINCIPAL HEALTH PROBLEM OR DIAGNOSIS: unclear. OTHER HEALTH PROBLEM/S: unclear. TREATMENT RECEIVED/RECEIVING: surgery. OTHER SOCIAL/DEMOGRAPHIC DETAILS:
Interventions	DETAILS OF INTERVENTION: Three weeks after discharge, the patient was called using an interview guide; the 3 week period was selected because it gives the surgical patient sufficient time to overcome most of the normal problems associated with any surgery; yet if problems persisted, they could be identified and addressed before the routine 6 weeks follow‐up. DETAILS OF CONTROL: usual care. CO‐INTERVENTION? unclear. DETAILS OF CO‐INTERVENTIONS: unclear. DELIVERY OF INTERVENTION: Frequency: 1. First time at day 3 weeks after discharge. Period: PROVIDERS: someone who was not a nurse, but had worked in a number of hospital units and was familiar with hospital patient's concerns. INTERVENTION QUALITY: unclear. FIDELITY/INTEGRITY: unclear.
Outcomes	NUMBER OF OUTCOMES: 1. OUTCOME / TOOL / TOOL VALIDATED / METHOD OF ASSESSMENT / TIME OF ASSESSMENT A.Psycho‐social health of patients (uncertainty, anxiety, informational needs, mood, coping, quality of life, social activity, ..): Satisfaction / self‐developed / no / written questionnaire / 6 weeks after discharge. B.Physical health of patients (eg. functional status, self‐care, self‐efficacy, independence, ..): C.Other consumer oriented outcomes (eg. treatment adherence, knowledge, adverse events, ..): D. Health service delivery oriented outcomes (eg. hospital readmission, health services utilization, ..):
Notes	·CHANGES IN TRIAL PROTOCOL ·CONTACT WITH AUTHOR ·POWER CALCULATION? ·RECORD IF THE STUDY WAS TRANSLATED FROM A LANGUAGE OTHER THAN ENGLISH. ·RECORD IF THE STUDY WAS A DUPLICATE PUBLICATION.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Allocation concealment?	Unclear risk	B ‐ Unclear