CONNECT: Extra Post-discharge Phone Support to Reinforce After-Visit Summaries
Official title: Communication Outreach for Navigation and Needs-based Care Transitions (CONNECT): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial
Run by Boston Medical Center · NCT07032818 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This pilot tests whether adding a detailed, language-concordant post-discharge phone call helps patients who prefer Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Cape Verdean, or Vietnamese understand their after-visit summary and avoid problems after leaving the hospital.
Quick facts
| Study type | Interventional |
|---|---|
| Ages | 18 Years and up |
| Sex | All |
| Enrollment | 60 (estimated) |
| Sponsor | Boston Medical Center Academic / other |
| Locations | 1 site (Boston, Massachusetts) |
| Status | Recruiting |
| Started | January 16, 2026 |
| Main results expected | March 2027 |
| Study ends | March 2027 |
| Registry record updated | January 20, 2026 |
| Trial ID | NCT07032818 on ClinicalTrials.gov |
Is this trial a fit for you?
✓Likely a good fit
Ideal candidates are medicine patients at Boston Medical Center being discharged to home who have a registered preference for Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Cape Verdean, or Vietnamese.
✕Probably not a fit
Patients who do not prefer the listed languages, who are discharged to a facility rather than home, or who have active cognitive impairment, delirium, or infection/safety precautions are unlikely to be eligible or to benefit.
A plain-English reading of the study's rules. Only the study team can confirm whether you qualify.
What this trial studies
This pilot randomized controlled trial at Boston Medical Center uses a 2:1 allocation to compare standard discharge education with an enhanced intervention that adds a detailed post-discharge phone call to reinforce the After Visit Summary (AVS). The control group receives a nurse review of the AVS and an automated English follow-up call, while the intervention group receives those plus an additional phone call in the patient’s preferred language to review instructions. Eligible participants are medicine inpatients being discharged home who have a registered preference for Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Cape Verdean, or Vietnamese; patients with active infection or suicide precautions, cognitive impairment, or a previously observed discharge are excluded. Outcomes will focus on comprehension of discharge instructions, post-discharge problems including medication errors, and 30-day readmissions.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this approach could improve patients' understanding of discharge instructions and reduce medication errors and short-term readmissions among people with non-English language preferences.
How similar studies have gone: Prior research of post-discharge phone calls and reinforced discharge education has shown mixed but sometimes positive effects on understanding and readmissions, while adaptations specifically for patients with non-English language preference are less well studied.
Who can join: the full rules
Show full inclusion / exclusion criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Registered language in Epic (written or spoken) is Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Cape Verdean, or Vietnamese * Admitted to medicine team at Boston Medical Center (BMC) * Being discharged home (to the community) Exclusion Criteria: * On airborne infections precautions at time of recruitment * On C diff precautions at time of recruitment * On suicide precautions at time of recruitment * Nurse report of participant displaying cognitive impairment, ongoing delirium, or aggression * Discharge observed during a prior admission
Where it's running
-
Boston Medical Center
Boston, Massachusetts, United States Recruiting
Study contacts
- Principal investigator: Kirsten Austad, MD MPH — Boston Medical Center, Family Medicine
- Study coordinator: Kirsten Austad, MD MPH
- Email: kirsten.austad@bmc.org
- Phone: 617 414-2050
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How to take part
- Review the eligibility criteria above with your treating physician.
- Check the official listing on ClinicalTrials.gov for the latest contact details and recruitment status.
- Contact the study coordinator or principal investigator to ask for pre-screening. Pre-screening is free and never obligates you to enroll.