In the modern world, chronic health disorders pose a significant burden on healthcare services due to the frequent hospital admissions among this vulnerable population. People with frequent hospital admissions have a disease burden that may exceed their self-management skills and hence require in-patient management which increases the workload on an already overburdened healthcare system and negatively affects the quality of life in this group.
Researchers have been looking for ways to improve healthcare management in these people and a clinical trial has shed light on one such intervention.
Researchers from different universities teamed up to explore providing telephone-based support to help people stay out of the hospital and improve their health-related quality of life. These friendly calls would guide you in staying healthy and preventing unwanted hospital visits.
Clinical Trial
The scientists wanted to test whether getting helpful phone calls could actually keep people from ending up in the hospital. They invited a group of people who were at risk of getting sick enough to need hospital care.6,402 persons were divided into two groups (3,190 intervention and 3,212 control). Those in the "Proactive Health Support" group got regular calls from friendly healthcare professionals. These calls reminded them about taking their medicines, eating well, and staying active. On the other side, the "Regular Care" group continued with their usual healthcare routines. Both groups were followed for one year and their quality of life and hospital admissions were recorded.