Patients' Preferences for Methods of Counselling about Glaucoma: Images and AV Aids Can Help to Make Counselling Effective

Objective:To investigate patients' preference for two counselling methods related to glaucoma therapies.Design:Nineteen volunteers with glaucoma received counselling about an eye drop medication in two sessions, one involving verbal presentation of information accompanied by a computer-generated information leaflet and the other involving verbal presentation of information supported by images. To the extent possible, the drug-related content of each session was the same. The setting was the EduLab facility of the College of Pharmacy and Nutrition at the University of Saskatchewan.Results:An equal number of subjects expressed an outright preference for each method, but results suggested that the order of presentation of the methods might be important. Most participants indicated that if a pharmacist used pictures while advising on medications, print information would still be welcomed.Conclusion:Patients were satisfied with both methods, with no clear overall preference evident within the study sample.