The Use of Implementation Intentions to Increase the Appointment Attendance of OEF/OIF Veterans
Condition: Brain Injuries
MeSH terms: Brain Injuries
Study type: Interventional

Summary: 
      The purpose of the current pilot study will be to utilize implementation intentions to
      increase patient compliance with appointment attendance. Participants in the current study
      will be individuals referred for evaluation of their treatment needs. Experimental groups
      will create a simple induction consisting of "what/when/where" statements (implementation
      intentions) with the intention of increasing their rate of calling to schedule and
      subsequently attend appointments associated with their care. It is anticipated that
      participants who take an active role in their plan and utilize the implementation intention
      procedures will be more likely to make and attend the appointments suggested by their
      treating clinician. This pilot project will provide valuable initial data as to the potential
      effectiveness of a simple, cost-effective means of increasing appointment attendance. If
      successful, it could lead to cost savings and a decrease in the appointment wait time for
      people by increasing the utilization of available appointments.
    

Detailed description: 
      The purpose of the current pilot study will be to utilize implementation intentions to
      increase patient compliance with appointment attendance. It is anticipated that participants
      who take an active role in their plan and utilize the implementation intention procedures
      will be more likely to make and attend the appointments suggested by their treating
      clinician. Sixty participants will be recruited to participate in the research project.
      Participants in the current study will be individuals referred for a secondary Traumatic
      Brain Injury (TBI) screen. This appointment serves to develop the plan of care that will be
      used for determination of the treatments that would be beneficial to the Veteran and as such
      the appointments necessary for further assessment or treatment in affiliated clinics (i.e.
      mental health, physical therapy, neuropsychology). Twenty participants will serve as controls
      who will receive treatment planning as usual. Twenty participants will receive treatment as
      usual but will be asked to contact the clinics directly to make their appointments. Twenty
      participants will be provided with a simple implementation intention induction. The simple
      induction will consist of the creation of "what/when/where" statements surrounding their
      intention to call to schedule and to attend medical appointments associated with their care.
      Research staff will then monitor the participants' appointment schedule daily to determine if
      they made the appropriate appointments and subsequently attended those appointments. Primary
      data for the examination will be these yes/no data points as to whether the participant
      successfully adhered to their initial intention to schedule the prescribed appointments.
      Additionally, for those who schedule the prescribed appointments, the latency in days from
      the time they indicated they intended to make their appointments will serve as a measure of
      their compliance. Across all groups, attendance at those appointments will be recorded to
      determine if the procedures lead to an increase in their attendance at their appointments
      compared to the treatment as usual group. This pilot project will provide valuable initial
      data as to the potential effectiveness of a simple, cost-effective means of increasing
      appointment attendance. If successful, it could lead to cost savings to the VA system and a
      decrease in the appointment wait time for Veterans by increasing the utilization of available
      appointments.
    

Intervention name(s): Implementation Intention; Contact Clinic
Intervention type(s): Behavioral; Behavioral
Intervention description(s): Implementation Intentions are a series of what/when/where statements that a participant will make to create automatic cues to complete a behaviorally advantageous action.; Participants will be asked to sign a form indicating their need to contact the recommended clinics to make their appointments.
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)
Primary purpose: Health Services Research
Keywords: Appointments and Schedules