Effect of a self-care book on physician visits. A randomized trial
S. H. Moore, J. LoGerfo and T. S. Inui
A self-care book that guides patients in seeking home care or physician
care for 63 medical problems was assessed in three randomly selected groups
of families to determine the book's effect on the number of visits to
physicians. The first group was given the book and an optional seminar on
its use; the second group was identical to the first but each family was
promised $50 if their visits to physicians dropped by one third; the third
group was a control group (total, 699 families). The book had no
significant effect on the number of physician's visits during six- and
12-month study periods even though one half of the families read most or
all of the book, and more than one third used it for a specific medical
problem. Large-scale distribution of this self-care book therefore did not
result in significantly less dependence on physicians for treatment of
acute medical problems.
