Implementing a Patient Education Booklet to Improve Patient Compliance in an Outpatient Gastroenterology Clinic

Abstract

Problem Statement: Honolulu, Hawaii has a large population of residents who struggle with health literacy. In the context of colonoscopies, low health literacy may result in prolonged procedure times, cancelled procedures, and difficulty in physicians’ ability to detect and resect colonic polyps due to reduced visibility of the colon. Purpose: The purpose of this project was to improve patient understanding of colonoscopy procedures and bowel preparation using an informational booklet with visual aids in an outpatient gastroenterology clinic. Methods: Evidence-based methods such as visual aids, simplified language, and shorter sentences were used to develop a patient education booklet that sought to improve patient understanding of colonoscopy procedures and bowel preparation. Data was collected before and after implementation of the booklet to compare the number of rescheduled or cancelled procedures due to incomplete patient understanding of the procedure or inadequate bowel preparation. Results: Subsequent to the intervention, cancelled and rescheduled procedures attributed to insufficient patient education decreased; however, the result did not reach statistical significance. Discussion/Conclusion: It is unclear if statistical significance was not achieved as a result of limitations in data collection or attributed to effectiveness of the booklet itself. Additional studies with lengthier data collection periods or educational materials with targeted interventions may be necessary to achieve more conclusive results.