Stroke Patients: A Case Study

Educating a stroke patient comes with many challenges. Patients who have had a stroke may suffer from barriers that may negatively affect the learning process. When educating patients in general, it has been reported that 40-80% of the information provided by the healthcare professionals is forgotten (Kessels, 2003). The more information that is presented, the least amount of information is recalled (Kessels, 2003). Many studies have provided information regarding which teaching modality works best with stroke patients. Written materials paired with oral education, hands on approach, demonstration, telephone follow up calls, as well as repetition has been proven effective with stroke patients. In addition, it has been reported that one must individualize the education to each patient keeping in mind the patients post stroke reading level.

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In addition, it is important to keep in mind that patients who have suffered from a stroke may be diagnosed with aphasia and may have difficulty reading beyond their baseline (Agarwal et al., 2013). Patients that have a low reading level are more likely to suffer from adverse outcomes than patients that have a higher reading level (Agarwal et al., 2013). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommends providing written education that is written at a sixth grade reading level or lower (Agarwal et al., 2013). Furthermore, the NIH also recommends providing easy-to-read education materials that focuses on a few concepts avoiding medical jargon and the use of complex words while keeping the reading level between 4th to 6th grades (Agarwal et al., 2013). Lastly, according to the Joint Commission, it is reported that patient safety is compromised when education materials are too complex for the patient (Agarwal et al.,