Improving Patient Health Literacy in Hypertension and Diabetes: A Quality Improvement Project in Primary Care

BACKGROUND: Chronic diseases such as hypertension and diabetes require active patient participation in daily management. Limited health literacy contributes to poor adherence to medications, lifestyle recommendations, and monitoring practices, ultimately increasing the risk of complications. This project evaluated whether brief, targeted educational videos could improve patient knowledge and self-management skills in a primary care population. METHODS: We conducted a quality improvement project involving 109 patients diagnosed with hypertension or diabetes at a primary care clinic. Educational videos covered 5 domains: blood pressure measurement; complications of uncontrolled hypertension; dietary approaches to stop hypertension diet; blood glucose monitoring; and complications of diabetes. Patients viewed the 2- to 3-minute videos via QR code on their own smartphones, or on a clinic phone, while waiting in the exam room. Participants completed the same questionnaire immediately before and after viewing. Changes in knowledge were analyzed using McNemar's exact test for paired responses. RESULTS: Significant improvements were observed postintervention. In diabetes: knowledge of tools needed for glucose testing (79%-100%, P = 0.016), timing of glucose checks (36%-94%, P < 0.001), hypoglycemia management (61%-91%, P = 0.006), and awareness of nephropathy, neuropathy, and low-density lipoprotein control (P < 0.05). In hypertension: improvement in premeasurement behaviors (50%-83%, P = 0.002), interpretation of systolic/diastolic readings (23%-70%, P < 0.001), and consistent monitoring importance (63%-97%, P = 0.002). Lifestyle-related knowledge (diet, exercise) improved but did not reach statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: Brief, QR code-delivered educational videos viewed during in-visit wait time were associated with substantial short-term gains in patient comprehension of critical self-management concepts. This low-cost, adaptable model is feasible in routine primary care.