Patient reports of health education activities in a public hospital

Hospitals have been greatly underutilised as settings for health promotion activities in Australia. Most research on this subject has been derived from hospital administrators or clinicians. An exit survey of inpatients (n = 460) of a large regional public hospital in Queensland was conducted to examine reported levels of health education in relation to cancer prevention and control. Patients indicated considerable receptivity to a range of secondary prevention activities in the hospital setting, indicating the potential for an increased contribution to the national health agenda by many hospitals.