Illustrations as a patient education tool to improve recall of postoperative cataract medication regimens in the...

To assess the impact of medication frequency illustrations in patient education for use in the developing world.

This was a randomized controlled trial of a study population of patients undergoing cataract surgery in St/Louis du Nord, Haiti. Patients and accompanying family members were randomized prior to surgery to receive either standard oral post/operative instructions or oral instructions with detailed illustrations regarding the morning, noon, evening, and bedtime use of topical antibiotic and steroid drops. On postoperative day 1, patients and enrolled family members were questioned regarding when and how often the patient was to use his or her eye drops by a blinded examiner, and results were compiled.

Of the 65 patients enrolled in the study 32 patients were randomized to the oral group, 33 were randomized to the illustration group. The morning recall was 76% in the illustration group and 50% in the oral group without illustrations (p = 0.0259). Bedtime recall was 67% in the illustration group and 38% in the oral group (p = 0.0139). There was a statistically significant improvement in recall for the illustration group with the morning and bedtime doses. There was a trend in favor of the illustration group on the afternoon and evening doses; however this was not statistically significant.

Illustrations appear to be a useful adjunct in explaining complex medication regimens to patients in the developing world where cultural and language barriers can be difficult to bridge. This better understanding could translate into improved medication compliance and outcomes.