title: An update on the representational approach to patient education.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To provide an update on the representational approach to patient education.
  
  
  METHODS
  The representational approach to patient education to guide a wide-range of educational interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Four intervention trials based on the representational approach are discussed: the representational intervention to decrease cancer pain (RIDcancerPain), patient-centered advance care planning (PC-ACP), an individualized representational intervention to improve symptom management (IRIS), and the written representational intervention to ease symptoms (WRITE symptoms).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Findings from these trials show that interventions based on the representational approach are efficacious. Results of these trials have provided information for strengthening the approach and extending it to novel clinical problems and delivery modes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The representational approach to patient education appears to be adequately flexible to guide interventions in different patient care situations, while also sufficiently structured to be replicable and testable.
authors.affiliation: University of Pittsburgh School of Nursing, Department of Acute & Tertiary Care, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USA. donovanh@pitt.edu
authors.forename: Heidi Scharf
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Donovan
authors.forename: Sandra E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Ward
authors.forename: Mi-Kyung
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Susan M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Heidrich
authors.forename: Sigridur
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gunnarsdottir
authors.forename: Christopher M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D032722:Advance Care Planning; D010146:Pain; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D018802:Patient-Centered Care