Multicenter study of health education in the emergency department

Study objectives: Emergency department (ED) patients and their friends or family often wait several hours, which presents an opportunity for health education. We hypothesized that most ED patients and visitors are interested in learning about various health topics in the ED setting and that interest would vary by demographic factors. Methods: For two 24-hour periods, ED patients and visitors aged 18 years or older were enrolled in 4 Boston EDs. Eligible patients were enrolled consecutively, and visitors were surveyed every 3 hours. Exclusion criteria included severe illness and emotional disturbance. Surveys presented subjects with a list of health conditions and topics. Subjects indicated their interest and preferred mode of learning about each topic (eg, brochure, book, video). Results: Of 1,320 eligible subjects, 1,010 (76%) completed the survey. Fifty-six percent were patients, and 44% were visitors. Overall, 57% were female patients and 64% white patients, with a mean age of 44±18 years. Ninety-eight percent (95% confidence interval 97% to 99%) of subjects were interested in learning about at least 1 of 28 health topics. The 3 most popular were nutrition (65%), stress (61%), and exercise (59%). Interest in each of these 3 was higher among young adults (all P<.02) but otherwise did not differ across subgroups. Women were more interested in learning about obesity, asthma, stress, mental illness, nutrition, breast cancer screening, and domestic violence (all P<.05), whereas men were more interested in prostate cancer screening (P<.001). Although smokers were more interested in learning about tobacco, alcohol, and drug use (all P<.01), interest in other items did not differ by smoking status (P=.35). Overall, respondents chose brochure or book as the preferred mode of learning (33%); however, this choice varied significantly for some topics and demographic factors, including education level and income level. Conclusion: ED patients and visitors are interested in learning about a variety of health topics. Waiting time provides an untapped opportunity for health education, including disease prevention. A detailed understanding of peopleʹs specific interests and preferences will result in more appropriate educational materials and resources.