Telephone Support and Telemonitoring for Low-Income Older Adults

Jeong, Suyong PhD, RN
Choi, Hanna PhD, RN
Gwon, Seok Hyun PhD, RN
Kim, Jeongeun PhD, RN

Dr. Jeong is Researcher, and Dr. Kim is Professor, Research Institute of Nursing Science, College of Nursing, Seoul National University, Seoul, and Dr. Choi is Assistant Professor, Department of Nursing, Nambu University, Gwangju, Republic of Korea; and Dr. Gwon is Assistant Professor, College of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

The authors have disclosed no potential conflicts of interest, financial or otherwise. This research was supported by the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education (NRF-2015R1D1A1A01061329), and partially supported by the Development of the Technology for Age-friendly Smart Home based on health care funded by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs (12CHUD-B056165-03-000000). The authors acknowledge Jiye Sin and Sangmi Ku for assisting with telephone support and group health education.

Address correspondence to Jeongeun Kim, PhD, RN, Professor, Research Institute of Nursing Science, College of Nursing, Seoul National University, 103 Daehak-ro, Jongno-gu, 03080, Seoul, Republic of Korea; e-mail: [email protected].

Received July 21, 2017

Accepted March 06, 2018

Research in Gerontological Nursing 11(4):p 198-206, July 01, 2018. | DOI: 10.3928/19404921-20180502-01

The objective of the current pilot study was to determine whether nurse-led telephone counseling improves health behavior, self-care, and physiological indices for low-income older adults using a telemonitoring system. The control group (n = 15) was provided with weekly health education only, and the intervention group (n = 20) was given additional telephone support by nurses. At baseline and 8 weeks, data on health and self-care behaviors were collected using a self-reported questionnaire, and blood pressure and fasting blood glucose levels were assessed. Nurse-led telephone support had a medium effect on improving health behavior (Cohen's d = 0.58, 95% confidence interval [CI] [−0.10, 1.27]), reducing systolic blood pressure (Cohen's d = −0.61, 95% CI [−1.29, 0.08]), and improving self-care behavior for hypertension (Cohen's d = 1.16, 95% CI [0.05, 2.27]). Findings support that nurse-led telephone support may be effective for improvements in health behavior, systolic blood pressure, and hypertension self-care in disadvantaged older adults under remote monitoring. Further studies are needed to obtain a powered sample size and investigate the long-term effects of personalized elements surrounding telehealth in community-based settings.

[Res Gerontol Nurs. 2018; 11(4):198–206.]