PATIENT-INITIATED PREVENTION DISCUSSIONS - 2 INTERVENTIONS TO STIMULATE PATIENTS TO INITIATE PREVENTION DISCUSSIONS

BACKGROUND. When patients are active participants in discussions, comp rehension and compliance are likely to improve. This study examines th e use of two interventions to aid patients in initiating such discussi ons in the area of health maintenance. METHODS. The study was a random ized controlled trial of adult patients. The first intervention used t wo cards that listed seven core health maintenance concerns. The secon d intervention used a brief session with a nurse to help patients iden tify their health risks and develop a plan for seeking any desired inf ormation about these risks. An exit questionnaire and a telephone inte rview 4 to 6 weeks later assessed the extent to which (1) information seeking by patients was stimulated; (2) patients recalled the informat ion obtained; (3) patients used the information to effect lifestyle ch anges; and (4) patients felt they participated in the decision to disc uss health maintenance, RESULTS. Both interventions stimulated patient s to request health maintenance information (both P<.05); the second i ntervention significantly increased patient recall (P=.018). Neither i ntervention, however, had a significant impact on lifestyle change or sense of participation in the decision to initiate discussion. Analysi s of the second intervention did show that both increasing patients' r ecall of information (P=.008) and sense of involvement in the decision to discuss health maintenance (P=.003) significantly increases the li kelihood of lifestyle change. CONCLUSIONS. Two interventions have been developed that are relatively simple and inexpensive methods to stimu late patients to seek health maintenance, and quite probably other hea lth-related information. The blunted impact of these two interventions , however, raises the question of whether such simple and relatively i nexpensive interventions are strong enough to stimulate patients to us e this information to initiate change when one seeks to address a wide range of risks.