Promoting patient comprehension of relevant health information

Abstract

Patient understanding of health care recommendations provided by health care professionals is essential to enabling active and informed patient participation in care. Unfortunately, evidence suggests that patients often seriously misunderstand relevant health information provided to them, leading to errant patient decisions about their care. This commentary examines key communication factors that influence patient understanding and argues for a comprehensive approach to assessing and promoting patient comprehension.

Understanding women’s choices for management of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia 2 (CIN2): Qualitative analysis of a randomised experimental study

“…It is essential therefore that clinicians have accurate perceptions of the benefits and harms of interventions, in order to help patients understand health information and enable informed decision-making. 26 Women may have chosen active surveillance based on the information provided, as there was evidence in the data of these women attending to the information. Those who received the overtreatment statement, were more likely to state the terms unnecessary and potentially harmful in their reasons for choosing active surveillance over surgery, than those who had not received this terminology.…”

Infant and Young Child Feeding Knowledge among Caregivers of Children Aged between 0 and 24 Months in Seshego Township, Limpopo Province, South Africa

“…In this study too, a sizable percentage of survey respondents (28.7%), showed inadequate comprehension, which calls for reinforcing of IYCF education. People frequently misinterpret pertinent health information given to them by healthcare professionals, which can result in dangerous mistakes while following advised care programmes [ 42 ]. Even if they may not fully understand the pertinent facts, patients may believe they understand the health information given to them.…”

“…In addition to good attitudes and knowledge, as well as improved skills and more self-advocacy, education can lead to better lifestyle options. Patients, even those with advanced language abilities, sometimes struggle to comprehend medical information because they lack familiarity with medical jargon, are distracted with their symptoms, and find it difficult to concentrate while agitated [ 42 , 45 ]. Higher levels of education are also associated with good health, while lower educational levels are associated with illness, mortality, and disability [ 49 ].…”

Effects of a Video-Based Preoperative Educational Intervention Plus Nurse-Led Reinforcement Discussion on Knowledge, Self-Efficacy, and Resilience in Patients Undergoing Major Surgery

“…However, the literature also shows that patients themselves fail to perceive their own deficits in comprehension and report inappropriate confidence in their understanding and recall of relevant information (Engel et al, 2009). This may be explained in different ways: (1) patients may be embarrassed to report confusion or not understanding; (2) patients may want to appear competent and state untruthfully that they understand; or (3) patients may simply think that they understood when full comprehension was not actually reached (Kreps, 2018). Thus, health care professionals responsible for patient education should try to combine patient's self-perception with objective assessments that explore the aims of the educational intervention (e.g., knowledge of the symptoms that need reporting, timing to ask for analgesics, procedure to change position in the bed), rather than performing a comprehensive assessment.…”