title: Effectiveness of telephone follow-up and counseling in aftercare for alcoholism.
abstract: This study investigates the effectiveness of telephone follow-up and counseling for alcoholism outpatients on abstinence, readmission, alcohol consumption, addiction severity and adjustment at three months follow-up. A quasi-experimental pre-post control group design was used. Subjects were recruited from a psychiatric center from March to September 2001 by purposive sampling. 34 cases were studied in each of an experimental and a control group. The structured instruments included an Addiction Severity Index (ASI) and a Progress Evaluation Scale (PES). Data were analyzed using t-test, chi-square, and generalized estimating equation regression analyses. Abstinence rate (p <.05) and adjustment (p <.05) at three months post-discharge were significantly increased in the experimental group. Addiction severity (p <.001) and readmission rate (p <.05) were significantly decreased, whereas decrease in alcohol consumption was not significant. These results showed that the telephone follow-up intervention contributed to better outcomes and demonstrated the importance of aftercare for alcoholism. It is suggested that developing a rehabilitation treatment program should enhance abstinence for alcoholism.
authors.affiliation: Taipei City Psychiatric Center.
authors.forename: Fen-Fang
authors.initials: FF
authors.lastname: Horng
authors.forename: Ke-Hsin
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Chueh
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000359:Aftercare / Q000458:organization & administration*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D000553:Ambulatory Care / Q000458:organization & administration; D001294:Attitude to Health; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D003376:Counseling / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006302:Health Services Research; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020380:Needs Assessment; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D010359:Patient Readmission / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012008:Recurrence; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013624:Taiwan; D013689:Telephone / Q000592:standards*