Patient education materials for mental health problems in family practice: does location matter?

This study examines how frequently family physicians display printed educational materials about mental health problems in their practices and where these materials should be located for optimal effect.

A cross-sectional observational study of pamphlet display practices in 13 family physicians' offices in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada was followed by an intervention which placed selected mental health educational materials in waiting rooms and examining rooms, and monitored the pick up rate from each location by patients.

The study found that few mental health pamphlets were displayed by the participating physicians, that when a range of these pamphlets was made available, pamphlets on mood disorders were the most popular, and that significantly more pamphlets were picked up from examining rooms than from waiting rooms.

We conclude that patients are interested in having access to printed materials about mental health problems, and that the optimal location is in display racks in examining rooms.