Evaluation of generic patient information: effects on health outcomes, knowledge and satisfaction.

Objective: To establish whether the provision of commercially produced written information in addition to routine hospital information can improve patients' knowledge and satisfaction and affect their health-related quality of life.

Methods: Elective surgical patients were randomised into an experimental group (N = 54) who received three commercially produced information booklets at pre-assessment, before surgery and at discharge, and a control group (N = 55) who received standard hospital information only.

Results: The experimental group were significantly less anxious immediately before their operation, and reported greater perceived control compared to controls post-operatively. Two weeks after discharge, health status for the two groups was similar except the experimental group reported significantly less pain. Overall satisfaction was fairly high and similar in both groups. The experimental group demonstrated greater knowledge at pre-admission, but not at discharge or follow-up.

Discussion: Patients increasingly expect written information; however amount, quality and timeliness vary considerably. Combining commercially produced information with standard hospital information may be to the patient's benefit.

Practice Implications: Providing patients with commercially produced standardised information in addition to internally produced hospital information could have an additional, though limited, benefit to patients' health outcomes. This could be a way of incorporating the expertise of both providers to the patient's benefit.