Written and verbal information versus verbal information only for patients being discharged from acute hospital settings to home: systematic review

This article presents the results of a Cochrane review which was conducted to determine the effectiveness of providing written and verbal health information compared with verbal information only to patients being discharged from acute hospital settings to home. Only two trials met the review inclusion criteria. In both trials the participants were parents of children being discharged from hospital to home. The two outcomes measured in both trials were knowledge and satisfaction. The review confirms that providing written and verbal health information is more effective in improving knowledge and satisfaction than providing verbal information only for parents of children being discharged from hospital to home. There is no evidence of the effectiveness of the intervention in adults who provide their own care after discharge from hospital. Further research is required which involves adult patients being discharged from hospital to home, and research which measures a range of outcomes which include readmission rates, recovery times, patient/carer knowledge, complication rates, service utilization and costs (community, outpatient and inpatient), confidence in one's own care management, stress and anxiety levels, satisfaction with services provided prior to discharge, and adherence to recommended care.