Home » Trials » SLCTR/2026/013
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Follow-Up Telephone Conversations in Reducing Patient Non-Attendance at Follow-Up Clinics Post-Discharge from Inpatient Care at the National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka
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SLCTR Registration Number
SLCTR/2026/013
Date of Registration
The date of last modification
Aug 19, 2026
Scientific Title of Trial
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Follow-Up Telephone Conversations in Reducing Patient Non-Attendance at Follow-Up Clinics Post-Discharge from Inpatient Care at the National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka
Public Title of Trial
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Follow-Up Telephone Conversations in Reducing Patient Non-Attendance at Follow-Up Clinics Post-Discharge from Inpatient Care compared to standard care at the National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka. A Randomized Controlled Trial’
Disease or Health Condition(s) Studied
Psychiatric illness
Scientific Acronym
None
Public Acronym
None
Brief title
Effectiveness of Follow-Up Telephone Conversations in Reducing Non-Attendance at Follow-Up Clinics Post-Discharge from Inpatient Care at the National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka.
Universal Trial Number
U1111-1341-6610
Any other number(s) assigned to the trial and issuing authority
P/07/01/2026: Faculty of Medicine, Kelaniya
What is the research question being addressed?
Does providing structured follow-up telephone conversations by Community Psychiatry Nursing Officers after discharge from inpatient psychiatric care improve attendance at follow-up outpatient clinics compared to standard care alone at the National Institute of Mental Health, Sri Lanka
Type of study
Interventional
Study design
Allocation
Randomized controlled trial
Masking
Masking not used
Control
Standard therapy/practice
Assignment
Parallel
Purpose
Supportive care
Study Phase
Not Available
Intervention(s) planned
The study will be conducted at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), Sri Lanka. Participants allocated to the intervention group will receive five structured follow-up telephone conversations from a Community Psychiatry Nursing Officer (CPN) over a six-week period following discharge from inpatient psychiatric care. Telephone conversations will occur approximately at 1 week, 2 weeks, 3 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 weeks after discharge. Each conversation will last approximately 5–10 minutes and will include confirmation of scheduled outpatient clinic appointment dates, discussion of medication adherence, assessment of medication-related concerns or side effects, and encouragement to attend follow-up clinics. Calls will be directed to the patient when the patient has the cognitive capacity to participate; otherwise, calls will be directed to the primary caregiver as determined by the treating psychiatrist or senior registrar at discharge. If a participant does not respond on the scheduled day, up to three attempts will be made within the same week at different times before documenting the call as missed. Participants will be randomized into intervention and control groups using a computer-generated simple randomization method with a 1:1 allocation ratio. Participants in the control group will receive standard post-discharge care without follow-up telephone conversations. Each participant will be followed up for a total duration of 3 months after discharge.
Inclusion criteria
1.Male and female patients aged 18 years and above who are discharged from the National Institute of Mental Health following inpatient care during the study period.
2.Patients or caregivers who have the cognitive capacity to understand the study procedures and provide informed consent based on clinical assessment by the treating team.
Exclusion criteria
1.Patients assessed as lacking capacity to provide informed consent and for whom a suitable caregiver is not available to provide consent.
2.Patients or caregivers who do not have access to a mobile phone or cannot be contacted via telephone.
3.Patients transferred to another institution immediately after discharge
Primary outcome(s)
|
1.
The primary outcome is the proportion of patients who fail to attend scheduled outpatient follow-up clinic appointments in 3 months after discharge from inpatient care. |
[ Assessed at 3 months post-discharge ] |
Secondary outcome(s)
|
1.
None |
[] |
Target number/sample size
180 participants (90 in each group)
Countries of recruitment
Sri Lanka
Anticipated start date
2026-06-15
Anticipated end date
2026-12-31
Date of first enrollment
2026-06-15
Date of study completion
Recruitment status
Recruiting
Funding source
Self funded
Regulatory approvals
Not applicable
Status
Approved
Date of Approval
2026-05-04
Approval number
P/07/01/2026
Details of Ethics Review Committee
| Name: | Ethical Review Committee, Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya |
| Institutional Address: | Ethical Review Committee of The Faculty of Medicine University of Kelaniya. Po Box 6, Thalagolla Road, Ragama |
| Telephone: | +94 112961267 |
| Email: | ercmed@kln.ac.lk |
Contact person for Scientific Queries/Principal Investigator
Tharindya Ransarani Bandara
Senior registrar Psychiatry
Post Graduate Institute of Medicine,
160, Prof. Nandadasa Kodagoda Rd, Colombo, Sri Lanka
0610410192497
tharindyarbandara@yahoo.com
Contact Person for Public Queries
Dr. Sajeewana Amarasinghe
Consultant Psychiatrist
National Institute of Mental Health
Sri Lanka
+94777744949
sajeewana.amarasinghe@gmail.com
Do the investigators plan to share identified individual clinical trial participant-level data (IPD)?
No
IPD sharing plan description
Study protocol available
Yes
Protocol version and date
Final. 24.02.2025
Protocol URL
Results summary available
No
Date of posting results
Date of study completion
Final sample size
Date of first publication
Link to results
Brief summary of results
