RATIONALE: Understanding the risk of disease and prevention and screening activities to lower disease risk may help individuals make informed medical decisions.

PURPOSE: This randomized clinical trial is studying how well health education materials help participants understand medical information.

OBJECTIVES:

• Compare medical data interpretation skills in participants of low or high socioeconomic status who receive a general education primer (entitled "Know Your Chances: Understanding Health Statistics") vs a health education booklet (entitled "The Pocket Guide to Good Heath for Adults").

OUTLINE: This is a randomized, controlled study. Participants are stratified according to socioeconomic status (low vs high). Participants are randomized to 1 of 2 intervention arms.

• Arm I (control): Participants receive a health education booklet entitled "The Pocket Guide to Good Health for Adults," published by the Agency for Health Care Research and Quality, which contains general information about disease risk and reducing risk by following recommended prevention or screening activities.
• Arm II (primer): Participants receive a general education primer entitled "Know your chances: Understanding health statistics," which teaches how to understand disease risk and the benefits and risks of intervention.

Within 2 weeks after receiving the education material, participants in both arms complete a survey, including a medical data interpretation test, STAT-interest, STAT-confidence, and user ratings of the education materials.

PROJECTED ACCRUAL: A total of 555 participants were accrued for this study.

DISEASE CHARACTERISTICS:

• Meets 1 of the following criteria:

  • High socioeconomic status

    • Attended Dartmouth Community Medical School in the past

  • Low socioeconomic status

    • Veteran or family member enrolled in a Veteran Affairs clinic

PATIENT CHARACTERISTICS:

• English speaking
• No more than 1 participant per household

PRIOR CONCURRENT THERAPY:

• Not specified