Recruiting families and doing follow-up can be very challenging. At the Boston Public Health Commission we have over 15 years experience conducting asthma home visits and based on our experiences we find the following strategies to be helpful in increasing our asthma home visit numbers:
-Schedule home visits no more than a week in advance.
-Do multiple reminder calls throughout the days leading to the home visit. Always do a reminder call the day before and on the day of the visit.
-Send appoitment reminder cards, test or email notifications.
-During the first contact ask the client for alternative contact information (cell, emails or another household member contact info.) Many of our families' phones go out of service very quickly so alternative means of communication can be very helpful.
-Incentives are extremely important. Supplies should be divided in different stages of the visit that way you'll have something to bring to families during every visit.
Recruiting families and doing
Recruiting families and doing follow-up can be very challenging. At the Boston Public Health Commission we have over 15 years experience conducting asthma home visits and based on our experiences we find the following strategies to be helpful in increasing our asthma home visit numbers:
-Schedule home visits no more than a week in advance.
-Do multiple reminder calls throughout the days leading to the home visit. Always do a reminder call the day before and on the day of the visit.
-Send appoitment reminder cards, test or email notifications.
-During the first contact ask the client for alternative contact information (cell, emails or another household member contact info.) Many of our families' phones go out of service very quickly so alternative means of communication can be very helpful.
-Incentives are extremely important. Supplies should be divided in different stages of the visit that way you'll have something to bring to families during every visit.
For more information about our program please visit our website http://www.bphc.org/whatwedo/healthy-homes-environment/asthma/Pages/Boston-Asthma-Home-Visit-Collaborative.aspx
Good luck!