Teaching patients about their illness in a partial-hospitalization program.

The Partial Hospitalization Program at the Homewood Hospital Center, Johns Hopkins Health System, incorporated patient education groups as part of its regularly scheduled activities within an acute 30-day program. Patients often do not recognize their symptoms, know how to prevent relapse, or understand their illness. An organized approach to teaching patients concerning these three areas will be explored. The written teaching handouts which are given to patients are discussed.