Support is requested to develop and field test a culturally sensitive telephone helpline staffed by physicians and nurses to assist Hispanic patients and families make informed health care decisions. This helpline will provide four main services: 1) providing advice for routine medical concerns: 2) assisting patients to understand the choices and risks associated with medical and surgical procedures; 3) providing callers with disease prevention and health promotion information; and 4) providing health and medical background information through a library of prerecorded voice messages. In Phase I we will hire nurses, form an advisory group, develop preliminary protocols, and conduct a limited field test of the service. This will allow us to assess the feasibility of providing accurate medical and health information, determine the most common types of information requested, determine who is (and who is not) using the service, determine consistency of messages between counselors, and develop a protocol and operations manual. In Phase II we will build the voice library, expand the system to include more hours, cover a larger geographical area, test the potential for expanding to other non- English speaking minority populations, and carry out a randomized survey of users to determine post-cell knowledge and behavioral effects.
This helpline could be promoted for use directly to the Spanish speaking public as a 900 number service, or could provide contract service to HMOs, hospitals, and insurance companies. Similar services for the majority population have demonstrated considerable financial success.
