Patient education leaflet for hypertension: a controlled study.

THIS STUDY ATTEMPTS TO ANSWER THE QUESTION: is a leaflet, designed according to criteria of likely effectiveness, actually more effective in practice than a standard patient education leaflet? A new leaflet was designed, its content determined by the responses of a sample of New Zealand general practitioners. Four matched groups of hypertensive patients were used to compare gain from an old leaflet (group 1), a new leaflet (group 2), a tape-slide programme plus a new leaflet (group 3); group 4 were controls. Group 3 showed the only significant educational gain.