The role of the telephone in providing prenatal care.
To assess the role of telephone services in the health care of pregnant women, we evaluated the pregnancy healthline, Info-Grossesse (IG). We assessed the population of users, the reasons for their use, their reactions to the program, and their willingness to participate in follow-up surveys. During a 44-month period, there were 3,589 calls from women who were (or thought they were) pregnant. Overall, about half the calls related to teratogen information services, whereas the other half were for more general pregnancy-related information. Although women calling about medications were slightly older than the others, there were no major differences between groups defined by the primary reason for a call. Overall, about 17% of calls required a referral for formal risk counseling, with referrals most likely for calls about medications. Based on responses to a satisfaction questionnaire completed by over 80% of those asked to participate, IG decreased concerns for and answered all the questions of about three quarters of the respondents. Over 85% of eligible callers provided information on the outcome of their pregnancies, indicating that collecting these follow-up data is an acceptable and feasible program component. This study suggests that a pregnancy healthline such as IG can reach women worried about their pregnancies and that it can, thereby, reduce adverse conditions of pregnancy associated with "unnecessary" concerns or "inappropriate" use of services.
Lippman
A
A
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Houle
E
E
Leclerc
P
P
D000328:Adult; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006297:Health Services Accessibility; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011792:Quebec; D012017:Referral and Consultation; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013689:Telephone / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*