Research Team for Social Participation and Community Health, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo 173-0015, Japan.
Health and Welfare Bureau, Yokohama 231-0005, Japan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2023 Feb 21;20(5):3784. doi: 10.3390/ijerph20053784.
Japan has introduced a nationwide lifestyle intervention program (specific health guidance) for people aged 40-74 years. Medical insurers apply a reminder system to improve their utilization rates. This study examined the effectiveness of two methods of reminders (mailed letters and telephone calls) in a randomized controlled trial. Subscribers to National Health Insurance in Yokohama City, Kanagawa Prefecture, who were eligible for specific health guidance in 2021, were recruited. A total of 1377 people who met the criteria of having or being at risk of developing metabolic syndrome (male: 77.9%, mean age: 63.1 ± 10.0 years) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: a "no reminder" group, a "letter reminder" group, or a "telephone reminder" group. The utilization rates of specific health guidance were not significantly different between the three groups (10.5%, 15.3%, and 13.7%, respectively). However, in the case of the telephone reminder group, a subgroup analysis showed that the utilization rate was significantly higher among participants who received the reminder than those who did not answer the calls. Although the effectiveness of a telephone reminder might be underestimated, this study suggests that neither method impacted the utilization rates of specific health guidance among the population at risk of metabolic syndrome.
日本为 40-74 岁人群推出了一项全国性的生活方式干预计划（特定健康指导）。医保机构采用提醒系统来提高利用率。本研究通过随机对照试验，考察了两种提醒方式（邮寄信件和电话通知）的效果。
我们招募了神奈川县横滨市参加国民健康保险的人员，他们有资格在 2021 年接受特定健康指导。共有 1377 名符合代谢综合征患者或有患病风险标准的人（男性：77.9%，平均年龄：63.1±10.0 岁）被随机分配到三个组：无提醒组、信件提醒组或电话提醒组。
特定健康指导的利用率在三组之间没有显著差异（分别为 10.5%、15.3%和 13.7%）。然而，在电话提醒组中，亚组分析表明，收到提醒的参与者的利用率明显高于未接听电话的参与者。尽管电话提醒的效果可能被低估，但本研究表明，这两种方法都没有影响代谢综合征高危人群对特定健康指导的利用率。
