Hawk Kathryn, Shi Ruizhi, Weiss June, Makuch Robert, Toll Benjamin, Bernstein Steven L
Department of Emergency Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.
J Smok Cessat. 2018 Dec;13(4):227-232. doi: 10.1017/jsc.2017.23. Epub 2017 Nov 28.
Because of financial pressures, low-income individuals sometimes run out of cellphone service towards the end of the month.
To determine if the time of month affects ability to reach low-income smokers by telephone.
We reviewed data from a completed trial in the United States of emergency department (ED)-initiated tobacco dependence treatment for low-income smokers at a busy, academic ED in an urban community. We recorded the date of each one-month follow-up call, and divided each month into four time blocks: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, and Week 4.
A total of 2,049 phone calls were made to reach 769 participants. Of these calls, 677 (33%) resulted in contact; 88% of all participants were contacted. Using generalised estimating equations with Week 4 as reference, the odds of a successful contact at Weeks 1, 2, and 3 were, respectively, 1.52 (95% CI 1.18, 1.96), 1.30 (95% CI 1.01, 1.66), and 1.37 (95% CI 1.07, 1.76).
Study participants became progressively difficult to reach. This result may reflect low-income smokers' decreased rates of active telephone service later in the month and suggests a mechanism to improve follow-up rates in future studies of low-income populations.
由于经济压力，低收入者有时在月底会用完手机服务。
确定每月的时间是否会影响通过电话联系低收入吸烟者的能力。
我们回顾了在美国一个繁忙的城市社区学术急诊科针对低收入吸烟者开展的急诊科启动的烟草依赖治疗的一项已完成试验的数据。我们记录了每次为期一个月的随访电话的日期，并将每个月分为四个时间段：第1周、第2周、第3周和第4周。
共拨打了2049个电话以联系769名参与者。在这些电话中，677个（33%）成功取得联系；88%的参与者都取得了联系。以第4周为参照，使用广义估计方程，第1周、第2周和第3周成功取得联系的几率分别为1.52（95%置信区间1.18, 1.96）、1.30（95%置信区间1.01, 1.66）和1.37（95%置信区间1.07, 1.76）。
研究参与者越来越难联系上。这一结果可能反映了低收入吸烟者在本月晚些时候使用电话服务的活跃度下降，并为未来低收入人群研究中提高随访率提供了一种机制。
