Video, Written Patient Education Improves Understanding of Electroconvulsive Therapy

Brief education using videos or brochures improves patients ’ understanding and willingness to consider electroconvulsive therapy (ECT), suggests astudy inPsychiatric Services in Advance.“ECT remains a maligned, underutilized treatment, and psychoeducation may be important in improving access to those who may benefit from it,” wrote Jack Tsai, Ph.D., of Yale School of Medicine and colleagues.The researchers randomly assigned 556 adults who screened positive for depression on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 to one of two education groups. One group watched an eight-minute video about ECT and the other group read a four-page online brochure that presented the same information as the video. The video featured members of the public, subject matter experts, and patient testimonials. The brochure consisted of a transcript of the video and did not include any images. Using the ECT-PK scale, the researchers measured the participants ’ knowledge and perception of ECT both before and after the participants received their education. The researchers also asked participants about their willingness to receive ECT, both before and after their education.The proportion of participants who would be willing to receive ECT increased from 31% to 63% in the video group and from 29% to 56% in the brochure group. The brochure group had a significantly greater reduction in concerns about ECT-related memory loss than the video group. However, the video group had a significantly greater red...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: depression ECT education electroconvulsive therapy Jack Tsai Psychiatric Services in Advance Source Type: research