Evaluation of a learning resource center for cancer patients

To address cancer out-patients' needs for information, a self-serve learning resource center was established at a nearby hotel. This facility provides numberous written and audio-visual cancer information materials for out-patients being treated at the University of Texas M.D.Anderson Cancer Center Houston, Texas. Over a three month period, we conductred a consumer profile and assessed consumer satisfaction and use of the learning resuorce center. Data were gathered primarily through a self-administered patient/family satisfaction questionnaire and through monthly administrative records. The primary variables associated with use of the learning resource center were educational level and how long one had been a patient at the M.D.Anderson Cancer Center. Respondents who had used the learning resource center also indicated a stronger preference for receiving information about cancer through written materials than those who had not used the center. Users' degree of satisfaction with the learning resource center was generally high. The case study presented here offers recommendations for the practitioner regarding the establishment and evaluation of a learning resource center for cancer out-patients and addresses these issues in a unique program setting.