Increasing Patient Education through Customized Printed Materials - Article Example

care plan. The printed materials and follow up in this intervention helped to produce a reduction in drug use and improvement in patient outcomes in the case of the asthmatic group (Gallefoss and Bakka, 1999, p. 2004). A study carried out in the United Kingdom concluded that information leaflets are useful and desired by patients, but that they are underutilized by health professionals. (Kenny et al. 1998, p. 476). It echoed the concerns of the American study mentioned above, about some poorly written leaflets, but nevertheless recommended the use of printed information leaflets so long as they “ are evidence based as far as possible, peer reviewed, contain references, be dated, give an objective measure of readability, and be evaluated” (Kenny et al., 1998, p. 477). Keeping a database of leaflet titles was suggested as a way of ensuring that practitioners are more aware of their potential. One area of health care which often receives inadequate attention when it comes to patient education is that of psychiatric nursing. Hummelvoll (1996) proposes a “Nurse Client Alliance” model which is designed to support patients who are learning to live in the community. The written customized care plan is the cornerstone of this approach, and it consists of a series of questions and answers. The nurse poses the question, and the patient answers them, with the guidance and support of the nurse. Crucially, the content of the plan, which embraces medical and social needs together, is recorded in the patient’s own words, and the document is given to the patient as a record and reference point. Some drawbacks in the implementation are mentioned, such as reluctance on the part of practitioners because of the time involved in drawing up the plan, or