title: Effects of a health education and telephone counseling program on patients with a positive fecal occult blood test result for colorectal cancer screening: A randomized controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Our purpose was to evaluate the effects of a health education and telephone counseling program on knowledge and attitudes about colorectal cancer and screening and the psychological impact of positive screening results.
  
  
  METHODS
  A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 2 groups using a pretest and posttest measures design. Patients with positive colorectal cancer screening results were selected and randomly assigned to an experimental (n = 51) or control (n = 51) group. Subjects in the experimental group received a health education and telephone counseling program, while the control group received routine care only. Patients were assessed pretest before intervention (first visit to the outpatient) and posttest at 4 weeks after intervention (4 weeks after first visit to the outpatient).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Patients in the experimental group had a significantly better level of knowledge about colorectal cancer and the psychological impact of a positive screening result than did the control group. Analysis of covariance revealed that the health education and telephone counseling program had a significant main effect on colorectal cancer knowledge.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A health education and telephone counseling program can improve knowledge about colorectal cancer and about the psychological impact in patients with positive colorectal cancer screening results. The health education and telephone counseling program is an easy, simple, and convenient method of improving knowledge, improving attitudes, and alleviating psychological distress in patients with positive colorectal cancer screening results, and this program can be expanded to other types of cancer screening.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Medical Foundation, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hui-Chuan
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.affiliation: Division of Colorectal Surgery, Department of Surgery, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.|Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsin-Yuan
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Hung
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Medical Foundation, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.|Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Hsiu-Chen
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Chang Gung Medical Foundation, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan.|Department of Nursing, College of Nursing, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Shu-Ching
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Chen
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015179:Colorectal Neoplasms / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000517:prevention & control; D003376:Counseling / Q000379:methods*; D055088:Early Detection of Cancer / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009780:Occult Blood; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D013689:Telephone
keywords: attitude; cancer; knowledge; positive colorectal cancer screening; psychological impact; telephone counseling