Development and Application of Telephone Counseling Services for Care of Patients with Colorectal Cancer

Background: The number of colorectal cancer (CRC) patients in Taiwan has increased in recent years;therefore, the effective dissemination of information related to symptom care has become especially important.Previous studies indicated that the physical and psychological status of cancer patients can be effectively improvedby telephone counseling services (TCS). Thus, determining the most effective means of establishing a TCS tosupport the clinical practice of oncology has become a crucial goal for nursing. The purposes of this study wereto analysis the content of the TCS for CRC and explore stratification of the TCS. Materials and
Methods: Thestudy design was retrospective. A total of 850 calls were made to CRC patients in the cancer center of SouthernTaiwan during the period of January 2007- December 2011. A structure questionnaire was adopted to analysissatisfaction.
Results: Responses provided by the TCS included information regarding nutrition, side effectsresulting from chemotherapy and pain. Moreover, 28.7% of CRC patients needed advanced treatment. Morethan 90% satisfaction with all aspects of the calls was found.
Conclusions: The TCS coulkd be shown to providean effective means by which to expand the reach of nursing care to different times, places and patients, allowingfor greater cost efficiency and more rapid service.