title: Evaluation of the effectiveness of a teratogen information service: a survey of patient and professional satisfaction.
abstract: We have evaluated the effectiveness of the Wisconsin Teratogen Project (WTP), a teratogen information service, using two retrospective surveys. We surveyed medical professionals who utilized the WTP and patients who had received teratogen counseling in a clinic setting. The results from the medical professional survey indicated that medical professionals rely on the WTP for accurate and convenient teratogen information. A tendency to rely on the Physician's Desk Reference as an alternative resource was noted, reinforcing the need to encourage professionals to use teratogen information service projects. Major findings and conclusions from the patient survey included: patients found counseling to be most helpful if, whenever possible, numeric risks were provided; recommendations made in the absence of known risk were not considered by patients to be helpful for providing reassurance; overall compliance with recommendations was high but behavioral recommendations seemed to reduce reassurance and increase dissatisfaction with the service for some patients; and pregnant women exposed to low-dose ionizing radiation were more likely to have considered termination of pregnancy prior to referral but were not more likely to terminate following counseling. Our findings suggest that although the WTP is considered an effective service overall, teratogen counselors should give special consideration to patient and counseling characteristics as these can significantly influence the perception of the risk counseling provided. Particular attention should be given to patients with low-dose ionizing radiation exposure, since misperception of its teratogenic risk is extremely common.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Wisconsin-Madison 53705.
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Ludowese
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Marini
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Laxova
authors.forename: R M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pauli
mesh_terms: D000013:Congenital Abnormalities / Q000209:etiology; D003376:Counseling; D003625:Data Collection; D005069:Evaluation Studies as Topic; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007255:Information Services; D010349:Patient Compliance; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011247:Pregnancy; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013723:Teratogens; D014922:Wisconsin
chemical_list: D013723:Teratogens