233680 Crafting patient education information: Focus on cardiac rehabilitation

Monday, November 8, 2010

Lora Packel , Tba, Tna, Tba, AL
Background: Social capital has been shown to correlate with increased adherence to exercise recommendations. The principles of social capital were used to re-design a cardiac rehabilitation discharge packet that focused on the importance of exercise adherence for long-term health. In addition, the discharge packet was designed to have a low reading level and utilize principles to improve readability, as suggested by the National Institute on Aging. Methods: Peer-reviewed literature from the past six years was analyzed to determine the relationship between social capital and exercise behaviors. This information was then synthesized and applied to re-design a cardiac rehabilitation discharge packet for patients. In addition, principles of health literacy were used to make this information accessible to a larger population. Results / Outcomes: Principles of social capital were weaved throughout the patient education packet to improve exercise adherence after discharge from cardiac rehabilitation. To improve accessibility to those with a lower reading level, the final packet had a reading level of 6.9, reduced from 9.4, which is aligned with the recommendations from the National Institute on Aging. Conclusion: To improve adherence to exercise recommendations from cardiac rehabilitation, discharge information should be accurate, based on behavior change theories and have a reading level accessible to those with low health literacy.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
1. Apply basic health literacy principles to patient education materials. 2. Explain the relationship between social capital and adherence to exercise after cardiac rehabilitation.

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: student conducting research under faculty supervision
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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