Stroke education in an emergency department waiting room: a comparison of methods

Since the emergency department (ED) waiting room hosts a large, captive audience of patients and visitors, it may be an ideal location for conducting focused stroke education. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of various stroke education methods.

Patients and visitors of an urban ED waiting room were randomized into one of the following groups: video, brochure, one-to-one teaching, combination of these three methods, or control group. We administered a 13-question multiple-choice test to assess stroke knowledge prior to, immediately after, and at 1 month post-education to patients and visitors in the ED waiting room.

Of 4 groups receiving education, all significantly improved their test scores immediately post intervention (test scores 9.4±2.5-10.3±2.0, P<0.01). At 1 month, the combination group retained the most knowledge (9.4±2.4) exceeding pre-intervention and control scores (both 6.7±2.6, P<0.01).

Among the various stroke education methods delivered in the ED waiting room, the combination method resulted in the highest knowledge retention at 1-month post intervention.