Educating the glaucoma patient

Forty-nine patients with open-angle glaucoma and 32 controls were studied at each of 2 medical centres, one in California and one in England. A 12-point questionnaire was answered before, immediately after, and 6 months after viewing a 6 minute video film about glaucoma. The English glaucoma patients and controls showed lower initial knowledge than their American counterparts. Immediately after the film all groups had substantially improved their knowledge by answering 78-88% of the questions correctly. Recall study showed that both American groups had retained more than their British counterparts and that glaucoma patients retained more knowledge of their disease than did controls. The use of an educational video film in an outpatient setting is a simple and economical method of patient education applicable to both American and British subjects with open-angle glaucoma.