RECALL, RETENTION, UTILIZATION AND ACCEPTABILITY OF WRITTEN HEALTH-EDUCATION MATERIALS

The effects of two distribution strategies on Be recall of receipt, re tention, utilisation and perceived acceptability of written health edu cation materials were investigated in two semirural communities. We ra ndomly selected 512 people, 212 from general practitioners' surgeries, who received the materials from their general practitioners at the en d of a routine consultation, and 300 from the electoral register, who received it through the mail in a personally addressed envelope. Of al l those who received the materials, 55 (10.7 per cent) were not contac table and 386 (84.5 per cent) of those contacted consented to the surv ey. Structured interviews were conducted with consenting individuals t wo weeks after distribution to assess recall of receipt, retention, ut ilisation and perceived acceptability. Of those receiving the material by mail, 77.4 per cent recalled receiving it, 75.4 per cent reported keeping the booklet and 66.7 per cent reported reading it. Of those re ceiving it from a general practitioner, 90.9 per cent recalled receivi ng it 93.3 per cent reported keeping the booklet and 56 per cent repor ted reading it Perceived acceptability of the material was high, with over 80 per cent of respondents finding it very or fairly eye-catching , believable, interesting and easy to read. Although general practitio ner distribution led to higher rates of receipt and retention, mail-ou t distribution led to higher utilisation rates and allowed access to a larger proportion of the population, resulting in more people being e xposed to the education message.