Role of computer-based, multimedia-enriched, e-content modules in patient education and pharmaceutical care – a pilot study

Patient education involves the transfer of health-related knowledge from various healthcare sources to the patients. Its value in clinical practice is undisputed. Computer-based patient education is an effective strategy for presenting information, enhancing awareness and improving clinical outcomes among hospitalized patients. Self-care behaviors and patient satisfaction are improved by such a practice for patients with chronic diseases like hypertension and peptic ulcer. Findings have shown computer-based education to be effective for people across the age continuum since it can be tailored to the individual's specific literacy level. The basic underlying assumption for such learning modules is that engagement into informal learning activities while at hospital can have a beneficial effect on the emotional as well as physical recovery of hospitalized patients.
 
Clinical pharmacists have long played a major role in the design, development, and implementation of innovative approaches to patient education. Computer technologies, like multimedia-enabled, e-content modules, are a very useful tool for use as an educational delivery mode in the healthcare settings. Computer-based learning interventions support real-time learning when the patient is ready or has time to access the computer. Such e-contents need to be simple, lucid, illustrative and interesting for patients to understand the basic underlying principles of the disease and its treatment.

Two such e-content modules describing pathophysiology and pharmacotherapy of peptic ulcer and hypertension were developed in collaboration with Educational Multimedia Research Centre of the University of Kashmir and used to educate a select group of patients at a tertiary care hospital with a view to increase patient awareness about these two diseases that in turn enhanced patient compliance to the prescribed medication, maximized the therapeutic outcomes and improved patients’ health-related quality of life. These e-content modules employed multimedia technology to promote and consolidate theoretical understanding about the diseases. Such e-content modules are expected to improve patient self-care, and in the long-term reduce the incidence of various complications as well as their associated costs.