Immediate knowledge increase from an oral cancer information leaflet in patients attending a primary health care facility: a randomised controlled trial

The aim was to determine the immediate influence of a validated patient inf ormation leaflet (PIL) on oral cancer and knowledge in primary care attende rs. Participants were patients (n = 800) attending their primary health car l provider from 14 general practices (eight dental and six medical) in the north west of England. Measures were a previously validated knowledge quest ionnaire (36 dichotomous items), self-reported dental service attendance hi story and demographic variables. The results showed that patients who had r ead the oral cancer PIL demonstrated a significant increase in knowledge re gardless of clinical setting (F[1,739] = 246.24, P < 0.0001). Patients show ed improvements in selecting the correct signs and risk factors associated with disease. Immediate knowledge gain from a simple PIL about oral cancer was found and independent of the primary care facility, where the PIL was d istributed. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.