Do undereducated patients read and understand written education materials?

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Abstract
The aim of our study is to evaluate the effect of written information in improving the knowledge of the undereducated nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) users about the side effects of NSAIDs and to investigate the compliance of patients with the written information materials. Thirty patients received only verbal information, 38 patients received only written, and 40 patients received both verbal and written information. After seven or ten days a questionnaire was administered to the patients on the phone to assess the patients' knowledge. Sixty one (78.2%) patients read the leaflets. Higher number of correct answers was obtained with both verbal and written information. Written information better informed than verbal information alone (p=0.02). We conclude that the undereducated patients will read and understand written education materials especially when the materials are written simple and short.