A RANDOMIZED TRIAL USING VIDEOTAPE TO PRESENT CONSENT INFORMATION FORCOLONOSCOPY

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine if a videotap ed presentation by a physician conveys information more effectively th an an in-person discussion by the same physician using the identical s cript. Two hundred one patients undergoing colonoscopy were enrolled i n the study. Patients were randomly assigned to one of three groups: v ideo plus discussion, video alone, and discussion alone. A validated, 13-item knowledge test and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory were admi nistered to all patients. Mean number of correct test answers for vide o plus discussion was 11.04; for video alone, 10.70; and for discussio n alone, 9.61. ANOVA with planned orthogonal comparisons showed that t he patients in the two video groups had significantly better scores (p < 0.001) than those in the discussion-only group. No difference was n oted between the two video groups (p = 0.32). Anxiety did not increase with increased understanding of the risks and benefits of colonoscopy . This approach may work as well for other invasive medical procedures and could save physician time while laying a foundation for a more pe rsonalized discussion.