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Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique logoLink to Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique
. 2003 Jan 1;94(1):74–78. [Article in French] doi: 10.1007/BF03405057

Recommandations de recours à une autre ressource en santé faites par les infirmières du service Info-Santé CLSC

Convergence entre les déclarations des utilisateurs et les données informatisées

Bernard-Simon Leclerc 115,, Louise Hagan 415, Lise Dunnigan 215, Diane Morin 415, Maria-Victoria Zunzunegui 315
PMCID: PMC6979934  PMID: 12583684

Abstract

Objectives: To examine the perception of telephone advice-line users as to whether or not a formal recommendation had been made to seek another consultation and to compare users’ perception to what the nurse documented. To analyze the effects of different users’ and call characteristics on the incorrectness of the self-report.

Data sources/Study setting: This study is a secondary analysis of data obtained from 4,696 randomly selected participants in a survey conducted among users of Info-Santé CLSC, a free-of-charge telenursing health-line service (THLS) available throughout the province of Québec.

Study design/Data collection: Self-reported advice from follow-up survey phone interviews, conducted within 48–120 hours after the participant’s call, were compared to the data consigned by the nurse in the computerized call-record. Covariables concerned characteristics of callers, context of the call, and satisfaction with the nurses’ intervention. Association between these variables and inaccurate reports was identified using multinomial logistic regression analyses.

Principal findings: Advice to consult another health resource was recorded by the nurse in 42% of cases, whereas 39% of callers stated they had received such a recommendation. Overall disagreement between the two sources is 27% (12% by false positive and 15% by false negative) and kappa is 0.45. Characteristics such as living alone (adjusted OR = 2.5), calls relating to psychological problems (OR = 2.8), perceived seriousness (OR = ∼2.6) as well as others, were associated with inaccurate reports.

Conclusions: Telephone health-line providers should be aware that many callers appear to interpret advice to seek additional health care differently than intended. Our findings suggest the need for continuing quality control interventions to reduce miscommunication, ensure better understanding of advice by callers, and contribute to more effective service.

Footnotes

Les résultats de cette étude ont, en partie, fait l’objet d’une communication par affiche aux Journées annuelles de santé publique tenues à Montréal du 5 au 8 novembre 2001.

Remerciements: Les auteurs désirent remercier chaleureusement Guylaine Arbour et Anna Josette Koné pour leur contribution respective. Nous n’aurions garde d’oublier le concours éminent que nous ont prêté, chacun dans leur domaine, Constantine Daskalakis du Thomas Jefferson University aux États-Unis d’Amérique et France Lapointe de l’Institut de la statistique du Québec.

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Articles from Canadian Journal of Public Health = Revue Canadienne de Santé Publique are provided here courtesy of Springer

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