Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-hc48f Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T01:35:28.461Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A method for increasing patients' recall of information presented by doctors1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 July 2009

P. Ley
Affiliation:
From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Liverpool
P. W. Bradshaw
Affiliation:
From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Liverpool
D. Eaves
Affiliation:
From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Liverpool
C. M. Walker
Affiliation:
From the Department of Psychiatry, University of Liverpool

Synopsis

Within minutes of leaving the consulting room, patients are frequently unable to recall what their doctor has told them. This paper describes a simple, practical method for increasing recall by the organization of medical information into ‘labelled’ categories. The success of this technique was demonstrated first in a laboratory experiment with volunteer subjects, and then in a naturalistic setting with general practice patients.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1973

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Ausubel, D. P. (1960). The use of advance organizers in the learning and retention of meaningful verbal material. Journal of Educational Psychology, 51, 267272.Google Scholar
Ausubel, D. P., and Fitzgerald, D. (1961). The role of discriminability in meaningful verbal learning and retention. Journal of Educational Psychology, 52, 266274.Google Scholar
Bower, G. H., Clark, M. C., Lesgold, A. M., and Winzenz, D. (1969). Hierarchical retrieval schemes in recall of categorized word lists. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, 8, 323343.Google Scholar
Joyce, C. R. B., Caple, G., Mason, M., Reynolds, E., and Malhews, J. A. (1969). Quantitative study of doctor patient communication. Quarterly Journal of Medicine, 38, 183194.Google Scholar
Kintsch, W. (1970). Learning, Memory, and Conceptual Processes. Wiley: New York.Google Scholar
Ley, P. (1972). An equation for predicting patients forgetting. (Awaiting publication).Google Scholar
Ley, P., and Spelman, M. S. (1965). Communications in an out-patient setting. British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 4, 114116.Google Scholar
Ley, P., and Spelman, M. S. (1967). Communicating with the Patient. Staples Press: London.Google Scholar
Tulving, E., and Pearlstone, Z. (1966). Availability versus accessibility of information in memory for words. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behaviour, 5, 381391.CrossRefGoogle Scholar