Abstracts

A considerable amount of information is presented to the patient prior to their EMU admission. Much of the information is provided in an educational booklet that all patients receive from the physician during their medical appointment or in the mail after the admission date has been scheduled. Many patients have stated during their admission that they were not informed of certain issues pertaining to an EMU stay. These issues include but are not inclusive to; memory testing, use of a safety belt, and the necessity of staying in their room while being closely monitored. Some patients become upset about not being aware of aspects of their stay and become frustrated when they realize the implication of how being on the EMU affects them. A comprehensive EMU booklet is given to every patient preadmission, however, it is unclear if the information within the booklet was presented but not processed or if it was presented at all. A brief questionnaire was constructed to help guide the formation of an educational tool. This will enable us to provide adequate patient education and set appropriate expectations to promote better health outcomes, Patients who were admitted to the EMU in April 2006 were surveyed by a 12 question instrument designed to assess expectations prior to the admission. Surveys were conducted by telephone retrospectively. Some aspects of the survey included; assessment of knowledge of the use of safety belts, memory testing, use of sleep deprivation to invoke seizures, use of an intravenous cannula, and if the patient received the information booklet., 12 surveys were completed, 4 male and 8 female with the age range being 37-77 years and 52 the average age of respondents. Fifty-eight percent had received and read the EMU information booklet, however, these same patients all claimed they did not know they would have memory testing. 42% claimed they did not know about the use of a safety belt, and 85% did not know they would be sleep deprived. This information is contained in the booklet, and 75% of all respondents felt they were able to ask questions and discuss expectations prior to the admission., It would appear that adequate patient education is provided but not necessarily understood despite receiving an EMU booklet and having the opportunity to discuss its contents. This approach may not be enough to insure positive EMU outcomes that we seek. Supplementary education is needed which could include a tour of the EMU prior to admission or assessing how patients themselves define the best method for them to learn. This may assist with setting appropriate expectations to promote better health outcomes. A larger population based study is needed to define how to best structure educational programs relating to diagnostic epilepsy procedures in order to meet the needs of our patients.,