Methods to Evaluate Educational Material to Surgical Patients: Integrative Review of Literature

Purpose: Health education has contributed to the prevention and control of diseases in the last 20 years, especially when associated with the costs to health, which can be minimized by using this strategy. It aims to providing knowledge intended to encourage patients to make changes in their behavior and life habits. Among the various scenarios in which the use of educational materials takes place emphasis on the surgical patient who can have their physiological and psychological needs compromised because of the surgery. Objective. Analyze the methodologies used in studies to assess the effectiveness of printed educational materials to surgical patient.

 Methods: Integrative literature review through the portals and / or databases: ISI Web of Science, BVS, PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane. The guiding question to the search was: What is the method used by the researchers to assess the effectiveness of printed educational material to surgical patients? The search involved articles published from 2000 to 2013. Data collection was performed using an instrument adapted to the purpose of the present investigation, containing the following items: identification of the article and methodological characteristics of the study. 

 Results: The search obtained a total of 422 items, and after applying the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 35 articles were remaining. Then, it was chosen to include only clinical trials and case-control studies because they have better level of evidence so, 10 studies were actually analyzed. Sixty percent (6) of interventions used in the studies, used printed material (brochure) containing information about the surgical procedures and how the patient should behave in the postoperative period, followed by an oral explanation and, in only one the orientation was conducted over the phone. Some studies have used additional procedures, 20% (2) used, beyond the printed material, an explanatory video, reaffirming the steps of the procedures and actions that the patient should be carried out in the postoperative period; 20% (2) used the printed material followed by a pre-consultation over the internet or a multimedia to enhance the information contained in the printed material. 

Conclusion: Few studies get to show the effectiveness of preoperative education using printed materials through quantitative tools; on the other hand the positive effects of the intervention appeared frequently when the studies analyzed the patient's perception. Although present in only one study, it is possible that the development of specific assessment tools including postoperative signs and symptoms related to educational material contents are deemed more effective to evaluate the effectiveness of interventions in preoperative patient education.