Computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI) in primary care

Abstract

Objectives. We aimed to study the prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors among 11,000 inhabitants in Northern Helsinki, and to identify high-risk individuals in the area and direct them to the local primary-health-care-centred CVD-risk-factor prevention programme. Method. We conducted a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI), a descriptive survey and primary care unit searching for CVD risk factors within the population under its responsibility. Six hundred and sixty-seven individuals aged 18-65 years out of 1000 randomly chosen inhabitants were interviewed using CATI. We measured the prevalence of self-reported CVD risk factors: smoking, blood pressure, last measured total serum cholesterol, body mass index (BMI), alcohol consumption, diabetes, physical exercise habits, positive family history of CVD/diabetes and personal history of CVD. Results. Sixty-seven per cent of the sample was interviewed. Nineteen per cent did not have a telephone and 3% refused to be interviewed. Eleven per cent did not respond. Persons with high cardiovascular risk scores were observed mainly in the oldest age group. In the total sample, 23% of women and 28% of men were estimated to be at high risk of coronary artery disease. Gender differences were seen only in one age-group: 45-54-year-old men reporting higher risk-factor scores. The results were analysed using the Statistical Analysis System (SAS). Conclusions. The CATI-method is a useful tool in screening of high-CVD-risk patients and in guiding them to local CVD primary prevention programmes.