Clinic visit audio recordings to help older adults manage health
The effect of clinic visit audio recordings for self-management in older adults
This project gives older adults with diabetes and multiple conditions audio recordings of their clinic visits alongside the usual visit summary to help them remember and manage their care.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Dartmouth College NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Hanover, United States) |
| Project ID | NIH-11109505 on NIH RePORTER |
What this research studies
You would be randomly assigned to get either the usual after-visit summary or the summary plus an audio recording of every scheduled primary care visit for one year. The trial will enroll 336 older adults with diabetes and other chronic conditions across three primary care sites. Researchers will check how well you remember visit details, how you manage your health, and health care use at 1 week, 6 months, and 12 months. The study will also look at what makes recording visits easy or hard to use and keep using in real clinics.
Who could benefit from this research
Good fit: Older adults who have diabetes plus at least one other long-term health condition and who receive primary care at one of the participating clinics are the ideal candidates.
Not a fit: Patients who do not listen to recordings, who have unaddressed severe hearing impairment, who opt out of recording, or who lack the ability or support to use recordings may not gain much benefit.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, giving patients recordings could improve memory of visit instructions, support better self-care, help caregivers, and possibly reduce missed follow-up or unnecessary healthcare use.
How similar studies have performed: Smaller prior studies show many patients listen to visit recordings and remember more, but larger multisite trials testing effects on self-management and health outcomes remain limited.
Where this research is happening
Hanover, United States
- Dartmouth College — Hanover, United States (Active)
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Barr, Paul James — Dartmouth College
- Study coordinator: Barr, Paul James
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page below.