Assessing Patient Understanding of the ACOG Abnormal Pap Smear Pamphlet: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Abstract

Objective: To determine whether the ACOG (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) Patient Education pamphlet -Understanding Abnormal Pap Test Results improves patient understanding of abnormal pap smears for an underserved population in a university-based Gynecology clinic. Methods:We randomized 50 patients presenting to our university-based Gynecology clinic to receive a survey packet containing either the ACOG abnormal pap smear or the ACOG healthy living pamphlet. Patients were given a five question survey before and after reviewing the pamphlet to assess their knowledge regarding Pap smear testing. Understanding of ACOG abnormal Pap smear pamphlet was measured by comparing pre-test and post-test scores.Results: Fifty patients were recruited and 47 surveys completed. There were no demographic differences between the control and experimental groups. The mean baseline pre-test scores were similar among the two groups (89.09% vs. 84.80%). A 10.4% increase in the baseline score was noted on the post-test of the group receiving the abnormal Pap smear pamphlet [p=0.0002], compared to a 1.82% decrease in the post-test of the control group [p=0.5043]. Conclusions:Patients who were exposed to the ACOG abnormal pap smear pamphlet demonstrated superior knowledge about abnormal pap smears when compared to patients in the control group.