Promoting follow-up attendance among mental health patients at a primary healthcare center in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial
Objective: In 2015, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health launched the 2015–2020 National Mental Health Strategy in an effort to integrate Mental Health into Primary Healthcare centers. One of the key objectives of the strategy was to increase the detection, assessment, and management of mental dis...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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SAGE Publishing
2022-11-01
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| Series: | SAGE Open Medicine |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121221135990 |
| _version_ | 1798022455039623168 |
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| author | Jana Kontar Ali Osseiran Fadi Makki Rabih El Chammay |
| author_facet | Jana Kontar Ali Osseiran Fadi Makki Rabih El Chammay |
| author_sort | Jana Kontar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Objective: In 2015, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health launched the 2015–2020 National Mental Health Strategy in an effort to integrate Mental Health into Primary Healthcare centers. One of the key objectives of the strategy was to increase the detection, assessment, and management of mental disorders including depression. In addition to diagnosis and patient education, a successful management of depression requires that patients systematically follow-up with their healthcare provider to ensure that they are on the optimal path to recovery. This study evaluates the impact of a visual self-assessment card to increase patients’ attendance to a follow-up appointment with their healthcare provider. Methods: A clustered randomized controlled trial was implemented at a Primary Healthcare center located in South Lebanon. The final sample consisted of 405 patients (209 treated and 196 untreated patients) who were diagnosed with mild-to-severe depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9 > 4). Patients were asked to attend a follow-up appointment with their health provider 2–3 weeks following the initial assessment. Treated patients were provided with a visual self-assessment card that tracked their daily mood changes and reminded them of their follow-up appointment. Results: Overall, the results provide evidence supporting the use of the self-assessment card to remind mental health patients of their follow-up appointments. Patients who received the card were 9 percentage points more likely to attend their follow-up appointment ( p = 0.05), with new patients (vs existing patients) exhibiting a 15 percentage points increase ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: Efforts focused on increasing compliance with follow-up appointments should be at the cornerstone of mental health integration approaches. Not only do our findings suggest a great potential for cost-effective interventions but also highlight new avenues to optimize on the use of reminders to promote compliance. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:31:25Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ab8a793e1f5a4dfab4062b38a28229e8 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2050-3121 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T17:31:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-11-01 |
| publisher | SAGE Publishing |
| record_format | Article |
| series | SAGE Open Medicine |
| spelling | doaj.art-ab8a793e1f5a4dfab4062b38a28229e82022-12-22T04:12:02ZengSAGE PublishingSAGE Open Medicine2050-31212022-11-011010.1177/20503121221135990Promoting follow-up attendance among mental health patients at a primary healthcare center in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trialJana Kontar0Ali Osseiran1Fadi Makki2Rabih El Chammay3Nudge Lebanon, Beirut, LebanonNudge Lebanon, Beirut, LebanonB4Development, Doha, QatarMinistry of Public Health, Beirut, LebanonObjective: In 2015, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health launched the 2015–2020 National Mental Health Strategy in an effort to integrate Mental Health into Primary Healthcare centers. One of the key objectives of the strategy was to increase the detection, assessment, and management of mental disorders including depression. In addition to diagnosis and patient education, a successful management of depression requires that patients systematically follow-up with their healthcare provider to ensure that they are on the optimal path to recovery. This study evaluates the impact of a visual self-assessment card to increase patients’ attendance to a follow-up appointment with their healthcare provider. Methods: A clustered randomized controlled trial was implemented at a Primary Healthcare center located in South Lebanon. The final sample consisted of 405 patients (209 treated and 196 untreated patients) who were diagnosed with mild-to-severe depression using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9 > 4). Patients were asked to attend a follow-up appointment with their health provider 2–3 weeks following the initial assessment. Treated patients were provided with a visual self-assessment card that tracked their daily mood changes and reminded them of their follow-up appointment. Results: Overall, the results provide evidence supporting the use of the self-assessment card to remind mental health patients of their follow-up appointments. Patients who received the card were 9 percentage points more likely to attend their follow-up appointment ( p = 0.05), with new patients (vs existing patients) exhibiting a 15 percentage points increase ( p < 0.05). Conclusion: Efforts focused on increasing compliance with follow-up appointments should be at the cornerstone of mental health integration approaches. Not only do our findings suggest a great potential for cost-effective interventions but also highlight new avenues to optimize on the use of reminders to promote compliance.https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121221135990 |
| spellingShingle | Jana Kontar Ali Osseiran Fadi Makki Rabih El Chammay Promoting follow-up attendance among mental health patients at a primary healthcare center in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial SAGE Open Medicine |
| title | Promoting follow-up attendance among mental health patients at a primary healthcare center in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial |
| title_full | Promoting follow-up attendance among mental health patients at a primary healthcare center in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial |
| title_fullStr | Promoting follow-up attendance among mental health patients at a primary healthcare center in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial |
| title_full_unstemmed | Promoting follow-up attendance among mental health patients at a primary healthcare center in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial |
| title_short | Promoting follow-up attendance among mental health patients at a primary healthcare center in Lebanon: A randomized controlled trial |
| title_sort | promoting follow up attendance among mental health patients at a primary healthcare center in lebanon a randomized controlled trial |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1177/20503121221135990 |
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