Conducting research interviews with elderly people by telephone.
Telephone interviews were employed by nurse researchers as a means of collecting data from elderly people following their discharge from hospital. The paper reviews the literature concerning interviews with elderly patients by telephone and recounts first-hand experience of the method on the basis of over 500 telephone interviews. Although some difficulties were encountered in conducting interviews with the hearing-impaired and the unwell, the method was found to be a cost-effective and useful means of obtaining follow-up data for research purposes. The prime factor in ensuring successful use of the method was the recruitment of subjects via personal interview prior to telephone contact.
Nursing Research Unit, University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
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A
Worth
A J
AJ
Tierney
D000368:Aged; D001291:Attitude of Health Personnel; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D003625:Data Collection / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005851:Geriatric Nursing; D006304:Health Status; D006311:Hearing Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D015399:Nursing Research / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D010351:Patient Discharge; D013689:Telephone