Automated telephone follow-up after breast cancer: an acceptability and feasibility pilot study.
Traditional clinical follow-up after breast cancer is inefficient at detecting relapse and is poorly suited to detecting and ameliorating psychological problems. There is interest in developing more effective and efficient methods of follow-up. We report a prospective cohort study of the acceptability and feasibility of remote, automated telephone follow-up after breast cancer. Women with a history of breast cancer were approached at their annual follow-up visit. For participants, the follow-up questionnaire was administered on paper at baseline. In place of a clinic visit following year, the women completed the same questionnaire using an automated telephone system. All patients were given mammograms. A semi-structured interview was then conducted to assess the acceptability. The potential impact on clinic usage was assessed. In all, 110 of 121 women (91%) agreed to participate. Seventy-five patients (71%) completed follow-up using the new automated system 1 year later. Seventy-one of the 75 patients found the system easy to use. Forty-nine of the 75 (65.33%) liked the system and were happy to use it as their sole method of follow-up. A further 12% were happy to use it as part of their follow-up. In only 10.66% of participants were concerns raised which led to clinic attendance. Automated questionnaire-based telephone follow-up is acceptable to women and has the potential to reduce attendance at clinic. Further studies to validate this method further are planned.
Montgomery
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University Department of Surgery, Level 2, Queen Elizabeth Building, Glasgow Royal Infirmary, Glasgow G31 2ER, UK. davidandrewmontgomery@hotmail.com
Krupa
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Wilson
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Cooke
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D001331:Automation; D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008327:Mammography; D010342:Patient Acceptance of Health Care; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013689:Telephone