Improving Health Behaviors Through Telephone Linked Care

The investigators propose to conduct a randomized controlled trial at the patient level of the Telephone Linked Care - Behavioral Change (TLC-BC) system, which is designed to promote smoking cessation, reduce risky drinking, and improve physical activity and diet. They expect to:

1. successfully integrate an automated telephone behavior change intervention into primary care practices;
2. demonstrate improvement in health behaviors for individuals randomized (assigned by systematic chance) to use the TLC-BC system compared to individuals who receive written health education informational packets; and
3. evaluate the direct costs associated with the use and operation of the TLC-BC system.

Project aims and hypotheses follow:

Aim 1: Integrate a proven, totally automated computer telephone intervention, Telephone Linked Care - Behavior Change (TLC-BC), into primary care practices. This will be assessed by the patient and clinician/staff surveys at the end of data collection.

Aim 2: Demonstrate an improvement in health behaviors for individuals randomized to use the TLC-BC system compared to individuals who receive written informational packets.

Aim 3: Evaluate the direct costs associated with the use and operation of the TLC-BC system within the primary care setting.

Hypothesis 1: The Telephone Linked Care - Behavioral Change system will be successfully implemented by patients and practices.

Hypothesis 2: At 6 months a clinically significant improvement in behavioral change rates will be demonstrated for diet, physical activity, and smoking in the intervention group compared to patients in the control group.

Hypothesis 3: At baseline, 3, 6, and 9 months risky drinking will be identified, but there will be no difference in improvement between the study groups.