Conference Proceedings - School of Nursing & Midwifery - Trinity ...

School of Nursing & Midwifery, Trinity College Dublin: 8 th Annual Interdisciplinary Research Conference
Transforming Healthcare Through Research, Education & Technology: 7 th – 9 th November 2007
Conference Proceedings
Four general practices in Ireland were purposively sampled to take
part in a pilot study, which used focus groups to collect data on CHD
patients’ priorities and information needs regarding healthy
lifestyles. The data were used to design a booklet which was tested
in a pilot intervention to improve secondary prevention of CHD in
practice. The CHD patients who used the booklet were asked their
opinion about the booklet being ‘fit for purpose’. The usefulness of
the booklet in preventive consultations was assessed by
interviewing practitioners. The pilot ran from March 2003 – May
2004.
Patients had a varied exposure to secondary prevention lifestyle
information and gaps in information provision were identified such
as knowing the purpose of their medications. Employing discussions
allowed the patient perspective as ‘expert’ in their condition to be
included in the booklet design and practitioners reported that
understanding of the connection between lifestyle and health
enhance a patients’ abilities to make healthier choices.
Considering patients’ experiences and opinions in designing a health
information booklet improves understanding of the patient role as
expert and may help practitioners identify strategies which could
lead to greater patient health gains.
References
Beaver K, Luker K. Readability of patient information booklets for
women with breast cancer. Patient Education & Counselling 1997;
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Bull FC, Holt CL, Kreuter MW, Clark EM, Scharff D. Understanding
the Effects of Printed Health Education Materials: which features
lead to which outcomes? Journal of Health Communication 2001;
6:265-279.
Dixon-Woods M. Writing Wrongs? An Analysis of Published
Discourses about the Use of Patient Information Leaflets. Social
Science & Medicine 2001;52: 1417-1432
McNamara DS. Reading both high and low coherence texts: Effects
of text sequence and prior knowledge. Canadian Journal of
Experimental Psychology 2001; 55: 51-62.
Morrall P. Clinical sociology and the empowerment of clients. Mental
Health Nursing 1996; 16: 24-27.
Paul C R, Redman S. A Review of the Effectiveness of Print Material
in Changing Health Related Knowledge, Attitudes And Behaviour.
Health Promotion Journal of Australia 1997; 7: 91-99.
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