The Use of Implementation Intentions to Increase the Appointment Attendance of OEF/OIF Veterans

Overview

The purpose of the current pilot study will be to utilize implementation intentions to increase patient compliance with appointment attendance. Participants in the current study will be individuals referred for evaluation of their treatment needs. Experimental groups will create a simple induction consisting of "what/when/where" statements (implementation intentions) with the intention of increasing their rate of calling to schedule and subsequently attend appointments associated with their care. It is anticipated that participants who take an active role in their plan and utilize the implementation intention procedures will be more likely to make and attend the appointments suggested by their treating clinician. This pilot project will provide valuable initial data as to the potential effectiveness of a simple, cost-effective means of increasing appointment attendance. If successful, it could lead to cost savings and a decrease in the appointment wait time for people by increasing the utilization of available appointments.

The purpose of the current pilot study will be to utilize implementation intentions to increase patient compliance with appointment attendance. It is anticipated that participants who take an active role in their plan and utilize the implementation intention procedures will be more likely to make and attend the appointments suggested by their treating clinician. Sixty participants will be recruited to participate in the research project. Participants in the current study will be individuals referred for a secondary Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) screen. This appointment serves to develop the plan of care that will be used for determination of the treatments that would be beneficial to the Veteran and as such the appointments necessary for further assessment or treatment in affiliated clinics (i.e. mental health, physical therapy, neuropsychology). Twenty participants will serve as controls who will receive treatment planning as usual. Twenty participants will receive treatment as usual but will be asked to contact the clinics directly to make their appointments. Twenty participants will be provided with a simple implementation intention induction. The simple induction will consist of the creation of "what/when/where" statements surrounding their intention to call to schedule and to attend medical appointments associated with their care. Research staff will then monitor the participants' appointment schedule daily to determine if they made the appropriate appointments and subsequently attended those appointments. Primary data for the examination will be these yes/no data points as to whether the participant successfully adhered to their initial intention to schedule the prescribed appointments. Additionally, for those who schedule the prescribed appointments, the latency in days from the time they indicated they intended to make their appointments will serve as a measure of their compliance. Across all groups, attendance at those appointments will be recorded to determine if the procedures lead to an increase in their attendance at their appointments compared to the treatment as usual group. This pilot project will provide valuable initial data as to the potential effectiveness of a simple, cost-effective means of increasing appointment attendance. If successful, it could lead to cost savings to the VA system and a decrease in the appointment wait time for Veterans by increasing the utilization of available appointments.