The effects of consumer education on women's health: a pilot study

This prospective quasi-experimental pilot study investigated the effects of a consumer education program on women's health and related attitudes. Variables addressed were health status, self-care practices, health value, health locus of control, community involvement and health-related consumer and political attitudes. A sample of 25 women were studied over a one-year period. Fifteen of the subjects received an experimental 16-week consumer education program. Analysis of variance of repeated measures suggested that the consumer education produced limited effects. There were no statistically significant changes over time in either the experimental or control groups in relation to any of the outcome variables, except health status. The mean number of reported health problems declined by 59.7% over the year of study in the experimental group, while the control group reported a 16.9% increase in health problems. These pilot data appear to lend some support to the therapeutic and social value of health education efforts in women's health care.