The effect of standardized counseling on patient knowledge about induction of labor

Our goal was to evaluate if standardized counseling improves patient knowledge, as compared to pre-counseling knowledge, and as compared to knowledge after non-standardized counseling.

This was an IRB-approved prospective study conducted at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from October 2010 to June 2011. Two groups of patients were evaluated: Group A received standardized counseling in the resident clinic; Group B received non-standardized counseling, in the resident clinic or private practice. The standardized counseling group received questionnaires before and after standardized counseling; the non-standardized counseling group received questionnaires after non-standardized counseling.

Sixty-six patients were enrolled in this study: 23 in Group A and 43 Group B. Baseline characteristics were similar among the groups. Group A showed statistically significant improvement in knowledge after standardized counseling (17.1%, p ≤ 0.01). Group A also scored significantly better on the post-counseling test than Group B (84.7% vs. 64.6%, p ≤ 0.01). In further analysis, this significant improvement was shown regardless of whether the non-standardized counseling was performed in the resident clinic or private practice.

Standardized counseling improves patient knowledge about induction of labor. In the future, this information can be used to appropriately direct patients' expectations and improve satisfaction with the induction process.