A Needs Assessment: How Patients and Families like to Receive Educational Information

Abstract

The objectives of this project were to identify the method that patients and their families preferred to receive educational material and if age or health literacy effected that preference. Our Bone Marrow Transplant (BMT) Clinic provides patients and families with an 80 page educational booklet on the BMT process from pre to post-transplantation. Staff were unsure if the booklet 1) was appropriate for varied health literacy levels and 2) met patient and family preferences for how they prefer to receive information about their care. In order to promote patient satisfaction and safe care transitions, healthcare providers must be aware of patient and family's health literacy as well as their preferred educational method. A 22 item survey was developed that asked questions related to the following topics: satisfaction with educational content of booklet, preferred method for receiving educational material, and health literacy. The survey was provided to patients and families during their visit in the BMT clinic. The following three questions were asked to determine health literacy: if respondent needed help with completing medical forms, organizing medications, or understanding medical terms. There were 33 participants who completed the survey. Sixty-three percent of the respondents preferred to receive education in written and electronic format. Fifty-six percent of patients with higher health literacy desired information delivered via website and/or phone application compared to fourteen percent of patients with lower health literacy (p=0.06). Thirty-eight percent of patients younger than 65 desired web-based and/or phone application compared to fifty percent of patients over the age of 65. Health literacy may determine the preferences in which patients and families like to receive information more than age. The number of participants would need to be larger and a more formal determination of Health Literacy performed.