Digitally recorded education: Effects on anxiety and knowledge recall in patients receiving first-time chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: Prechemotherapy information is overwhelming, and retention of critical information can be challenging. Patients from a Southern California infusion clinic had varying degrees of retention when nurses used traditional one-on-one teaching with supplemental handouts. OBJECTIVES: The intent of this article is to determine the effectiveness of standardized, digitally recorded education as an alternative teaching method for increasing knowledge recall and decreasing anxiety in English-and Spanish-speaking patients receiving first-time chemotherapy. METHODS: Baseline data were obtained from five patients who received traditional teaching. Using a pre-/post-test design, 92 patients receiving digitally recorded education completed a paper-and-pencil instrument that rated their anxiety and knowledge recall. FINDINGS: The digitally recorded education method produced significant decreases in anxiety and increases in knowledge recall.