A Poster Summarizing the Aaos Knee Osteoarthritis Clinical Practice Guidelines is a Powerful Tool for Patient Education: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Introduction: In May 2013, the AAOS published the 2nd edition evidence based clinical practice guidelines (CPG) on the nonarthroplasty treatment options for patients with knee osteoarthritis (OA). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of an educational poster outlining the AAOS knee OA CPG on patient knowledge assessment and satisfaction in the clinical setting.

Methods: This study was a prospective two-armed randomized controlled trial. The inclusion criteria were: age 40-85, mild to severe knee OA and no plan made for surgery at the time of the encounter. Patients were randomized to either a poster room, where a poster outlining the CPG was displayed, or to a nonposter room. In both groups, the treatment options were described to the patient verbally; however, in the poster room, the poster was simultaneously presented as a visual teaching tool. Post-encounter comprehensive questionnaires were administered to patients. The primary outcome measures were knowledge assessment and patient-reported satisfaction.

Results: 51 patients were randomized to a non-poster room and 54 to a poster room. Patients exposed to the poster significantly outperformed the non-poster group on knowledge with an average score of 55.3% as compared to 39.5% (p < 0.001). There was a 99% overall visit satisfaction rate with no difference between groups; average 9.42/10 satisfaction in the poster and 9.42/10 in the non-poster room (p=0.99).

Discussion and Conclusion: Patients exposed to the poster showed a statistically significant improvement in comprehensive knowledge assessment. Interestingly, even in the poster group, where all treatment guidelines were thoroughly presented, average knowledge scores were low, highlighting the deficits of clinic-based patient education on knowledge assessment. There was no difference in satisfaction ratings between poster and non-poster groups. In conclusion, the poster offers a low-cost effective patient educational tool that significantly enhances patient knowledge assessment and can be used as an adjunct to informed patient care.