title: Stroke education in an emergency department waiting room: a comparison of methods.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Since the emergency department (ED) waiting room hosts a large, captive audience of patients and visitors, it may be an ideal location for conducting focused stroke education. The aim of this study was to assess the effectiveness of various stroke education methods.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients and visitors of an urban ED waiting room were randomized into one of the following groups: video, brochure, one-to-one teaching, combination of these three methods, or control group. We administered a 13-question multiple-choice test to assess stroke knowledge prior to, immediately after, and at 1 month post-education to patients and visitors in the ED waiting room.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 4 groups receiving education, all significantly improved their test scores immediately post intervention (test scores 9.4±2.5-10.3±2.0, P<0.01). At 1 month, the combination group retained the most knowledge (9.4±2.4) exceeding pre-intervention and control scores (both 6.7±2.6, P<0.01).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among the various stroke education methods delivered in the ED waiting room, the combination method resulted in the highest knowledge retention at 1-month post intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Yu-Feng Yvonne
authors.initials: YF
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Lynne D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Richardson
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Roxanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Nagurka
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Ke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Sergey B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Zaets
authors.affiliation: Department of Biostatistics, Division of Biostatistics, Rutgers, New Jersey Medical School, Newark, New Jersey 07103, USA.
authors.forename: Michael B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Brimacombe
authors.affiliation: Department of Emergency Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Susanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bentley
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, New York 10029, USA.
authors.forename: Steven R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Levine
keywords: Emergency Department; Patient education; Stroke education