An underlying principle of patient education and counseling is that knowledge is necessary but not sufficient to change health behaviors. If knowledge alone could accomplish changes in health behavior, there would be many fewer smokers and more exercisers. Patient education involves more than simply telling people what to do or giving them an instructional pamphlet.
Few studies compare the efficacy of different types of counseling.
The following recommendations have been chosen because they each have been found to be useful in changing certain health behaviors. Most of the suggested strategies can be incorporated into the practice setting without changing existing practice patterns. Many can be implemented in brief periods of time during routine health visits. Frame the teaching to match the patient s perceptions. When counseling patients, the clinician should consider and incorporate, where possible, the beliefs and concerns of the patient.