TY - JOUR
AU - D. Sinai
AU - D. Lassri
AU - C. Spira
AU - J. D. Lipsitz
A1 - 
AB - BACKGROUND: Frequent attenders in primary care (FAs) consume a disproportionate amount of healthcare resources and often have depression, anxiety, chronic health issues, and interpersonal problems. Despite extensive medical care, they remain dissatisfied with the care and report no improvement in quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To pilot a Telephone-based Interpersonal Counseling intervention for Frequent Attenders (TIPC-FA) and assess its feasibility and efficacy in reducing symptoms and healthcare utilization. METHOD: Top 10% of primary care visitors were randomly assigned to TIPC-FA, Telephone Supportive Contact (Support), or Treatment as Usual (TAU). TIPC-FA and Support groups received six telephone sessions over twelve weeks, while the TAU group was interviewed twice. Multilevel regression tested for changes over time, considering patient and counselor variance. RESULTS: TIPC-FA and Support groups demonstrated reduced depressive symptoms, and the TIPC-FA group showed decreased somatization and anxiety. The TIPC-FA group demonstrated a trend towards less healthcare utilization than the TAU group. CONCLUSION: This pilot study suggests that IPC via telephone outreach is a feasible approach to treating FAs, achieving a reduction in symptoms not seen in other groups. Promising reduction in healthcare utilization in the TIPC-FA group warrants further exploration in larger-scale trials.
AD - Department of Psychology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev., Beer-Sheva, Israel.; The Paul Baerwald School of Social Work and Social Welfare, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel.; Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, UCL (University College London), London, UK.; Maccabi Health Services, Tel Aviv, Israel.
AN - 37079921
BT - Psychother Res
C5 - Medically Unexplained Symptoms; Healthcare Disparities; HIT & Telehealth
CP - 4
DA - Apr
DO - 10.1080/10503307.2023.2200982
DP - NLM
ET - 20230420
IS - 4
JF - Psychother Res
LA - eng
N2 - BACKGROUND: Frequent attenders in primary care (FAs) consume a disproportionate amount of healthcare resources and often have depression, anxiety, chronic health issues, and interpersonal problems. Despite extensive medical care, they remain dissatisfied with the care and report no improvement in quality of life. OBJECTIVE: To pilot a Telephone-based Interpersonal Counseling intervention for Frequent Attenders (TIPC-FA) and assess its feasibility and efficacy in reducing symptoms and healthcare utilization. METHOD: Top 10% of primary care visitors were randomly assigned to TIPC-FA, Telephone Supportive Contact (Support), or Treatment as Usual (TAU). TIPC-FA and Support groups received six telephone sessions over twelve weeks, while the TAU group was interviewed twice. Multilevel regression tested for changes over time, considering patient and counselor variance. RESULTS: TIPC-FA and Support groups demonstrated reduced depressive symptoms, and the TIPC-FA group showed decreased somatization and anxiety. The TIPC-FA group demonstrated a trend towards less healthcare utilization than the TAU group. CONCLUSION: This pilot study suggests that IPC via telephone outreach is a feasible approach to treating FAs, achieving a reduction in symptoms not seen in other groups. Promising reduction in healthcare utilization in the TIPC-FA group warrants further exploration in larger-scale trials.
PY - 2024
SN - 1050-3307
SP - 555
EP - 569+
ST - Telephone interpersonal counseling treatment for frequent attenders to primary care: Development and piloting
T1 - Telephone interpersonal counseling treatment for frequent attenders to primary care: Development and piloting
T2 - Psychother Res
TI - Telephone interpersonal counseling treatment for frequent attenders to primary care: Development and piloting
U1 - Medically Unexplained Symptoms; Healthcare Disparities; HIT & Telehealth
U3 - 10.1080/10503307.2023.2200982
VL - 34
VO - 1050-3307
Y1 - 2024
ER -