Telephone Calls for Health for Homebound Older Adults

University of Texas at Austin240 enrolled

Overview

A randomized controlled trial of the effect of 4 weeks of regular check-in calls, up to 5 per week based on participant's choice and 2 survey collection calls and possible referral of other services, versus no daily check-in calls, on self-reported loneliness measures for current Meals on Wheels participants (MOW).

The intervention arm will include 125 MOW clients to receive a call of between 5 - 10 minutes in length each by a consistent caller, five times a week, Monday through Friday for 4 consecutive weeks to check in on them. After the first week of calls, subjects in the intervention arm will be asked if the frequency of calls is acceptable or if they would like to reduce the call frequency, potentially to a minimum of twice per week. Brief guidance and training will be provided for the daily conversation to maximize time spent speaking by the recipient but otherwise, the calls are unscripted other than specific prompts to ask about the recipient's general sense of well-being. "How are you doing today?" The control Arm will include 125 MOW clients who will be randomized to a control group that will not receive the intervention calls. The control group will receive calls from a member of the research team at the beginning of the study to collect baseline survey data and at the post-4-week period to collect post-study survey data.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Enrollment

240

Conditions

Loneliness Social Isolation Depression

Interventions

Phone CallBEHAVIORAL

Calls were made by volunteers trained to engage with participants. Call structure was unscripted and call length was recommended to be between 5-10 min.

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 YearsHealthy volunteers:

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * Adult (18+) clients of Meals on Wheels of Central Texas Exclusion Criteria: * Cognitive impairment or in a hospice program.

Locations (1)

University of Texas at Austin

Austin, Texas, United States

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Loneliness as assessed by the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale

Investigators will use the De Jong Gierveld Loneliness 6-Item Scale for Overall, Emotional, and Social Loneliness. Scored from 0-6, a score of 0 indicates least lonely while a score of 6 indicates most lonely.

Time frame: 4 weeks

Loneliness as Assessed by the UCLA Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness in Large Surveys

Investigators will use the UCLA Short Scale for Measuring Loneliness in Large Surveys to measure loneliness. Scored from 3-9, higher scores indicate greater degrees of loneliness.

Time frame: 4 weeks

Secondary Outcomes

Depression as Assessed by the 8-item Depression Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8)

Investigators will use the Depression Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-8) to measure depression. Scored from 0-3, and a score of 0 indicates lower levels of depression while a score of 3 indicates higher levels of depression.

Time frame: 4 weeks

Anxiety as Assessed by the 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7)

Investigators will use the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) to measure anxiety. Scored from 0-3, and a score of 0 indicates lower levels of anxiety while a score of 3 indicates higher levels of anxiety.

Time frame: 4 weeks

Health Status and Quality of Life as Assessed by the Short Form-12 Question Survey

Investigators will use the Short Form-12 question survey to measure physical and mental health status. Summary scores range from 0-100, with higher scores indicating a better self-reported level of health.

Time frame: 4 weeks

Social Engagement as Assess by the Short Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS)

Data from ClinicalTrials.gov

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