Evaluation of telenursing outcomes: satisfaction, self-care practices, and cost savings.
Info-Santé CLSC, the Québec telenursing service, is a telephone health line nursing service that was implemented in 1995 in every local community service center (CLSC; n = 141) of 15 regional health authorities in the Province of Québec, Canada. It is, at present, one of the most important first-line health services and it operates in continuity with the other resources in the health and social service system. Info-Santé CLSC operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and received more than 2,260,000 calls in 1997. This article will report the findings from the first province-wide survey of the service, based on a stratified random sample of 4,696 callers. The findings revealed that most respondents were highly satisfied with the service; they followed the nurses' advice and carried out self-care measures as recommended. Nursing interventions helped respondents feel self-reliant, like they could solve the same or similar problems should they occur in the future. The vast majority of respondents considered that the call they made to Info-Santé CLSC was useful in finding a solution to their problems. The vast majority also claimed that they would certainly call Info-Sante CLSC again should another problem occur. The majority reported they would have turned to another type of resource if Info-Santé CLSC had not existed; half of the respondents stated that they would have used emergency departments and a third would have consulted a doctor in private practice.
Hagan
L
L
Faculty of Nursing Sciences, Université Laval, Québec, Canada.
Morin
D
D
Lépine
R
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001294:Attitude to Health; D003152:Community Health Nursing / Q000379:methods*; D017046:Cost Savings; D005260:Female; D015277:Hotlines; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011792:Quebec; D019114:Remote Consultation / Q000191:economics; D012648:Self Care