Psychological aspects of patient education for stressful medical procedures

Psychological preparation for stressful medical procedures is becoming more and more common, and health educators frequently design and implement many of these programs. This article summarizes many of the issues relevant to these patient education programs. Individual differences among patients and their differential responses to types of interventions are emphasized, and descriptions of information provision, skills training, relaxation training/desensitization, modeling, self-statement modification interventions are provided.