Development and initial evaluation of the usefulness of a question prompt list to promote patients' level of information about work-related medical rehabilitation: a pilot study.
Matthias Lukasczik, Hans Dieter Wolf, Heiner Vogel
PMID 38425499WHAT IT FOUND
50.0% of patients used a question prompt list during their work rehabilitation admission interview.
Those who used it rated it helpful and understandable. Physicians also rated it helpful, but said it took more time.
Key findings
0150.0% of participating patients reported using the question prompt list during the medical admission interview.
02Patients who used the list rated the questions as easy to understand and helpful for thinking of important topics and getting information.
03Physicians who reported question prompt list use rated it helpful for structuring the interview and communicating essential information, but also said it increased their time commitment.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
This was a pilot with a small sample: 3 patients were interviewed in phase 1, 11 healthcare professionals gave written feedback, and 36 patients and 6 physicians provided phase 2 evaluations. The evaluation was done in one rehabilitation facility, so it may not represent other work-related medical rehabilitation settings. Pandemic restrictions reduced the planned sample, and one of two planned rehabilitation facilities dropped out. The study did not assess validity or effectiveness, and the patient and physician questionnaires were developed for this study and were not validated. Items were mainly created from literature and expert feedback, not from a comprehensive analysis of patient information needs. The study recorded whether the list was used, but not which questions were asked. Patient satisfaction with information and perceived physician empathy were high, which may make it hard to detect additional benefit.
Declared interests
The study was funded by the German Pension Insurance, Southern Bavaria (grant F007-2018). The authors declared financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that the question prompt list improves patient information or rehabilitation outcomes. This was a pilot with 36 patients, only 50.0% used the list during the admission interview, and list use was not related to information need or satisfaction.