Information gain in patients using a multimedia website with tailored information on anaesthesia

Background: The preoperative visit is an appropriate time to educate the patient on anaesthesia. The aim of this study was to determine if a website, as an information source for anaesthesia before the visit to the preoperative assessment clinic (PAC), increases patients’ knowledge on anaesthesia.
Methods: A multimedia website was developed containing specific information about anaesthesia relevant to the patient. A questionnaire was developed to measure knowledge gain. Patients were divided into three groups: (i) those who read the existing brochure; (ii) those who looked at the new website; and (iii) a cluster of non-brochure and non-website users: those who did not read the brochure or website but had completed the questionnaire. An anaesthesiologist also informed all three groups during the preoperative visit at the PAC.
Results: Patients visiting the website had a higher educational level than others. A significant increase in knowledge was observed after using the website information compared with the other two groups (P<0.001). The group with higher education levels had higher knowledge gains, and the website independently contributed to the knowledge gain.
Conclusions: A patient-tailored multimedia website is an effective way to support the information provided by the anaesthesiologist in order to inform patients about their upcoming anaesthetic procedure. The use of such a website gives a significant increase in knowledge compared with only spoken information, or spoken information combined with a brochure.