Each of the 14 types of booklets (in Appendix) used in
the present study covered the contents of the patient’s
education, according to the self-management and lifestyle
recommendations of each of the clinical practice guidelines
for stroke4 and the risk factors.8-12 The content was
created based on discussions with neurologists, chronic
disease nurse specialists, and registered dieticians.
To ensure quality, the intervention protocol was created
such that 22 research nurses who possessed the
knowledge and techniques needed for patient education
could administer the intervention. Before the intervention,
the research nurses were also given information on the
various methods used to control ischemic stroke and
the risk factors and received training on the different
techniques used in disease management. During the
intervention, they conducted twice-monthly conferences
to strategies about subject’s problems with nurses who
specialized in chronic disease and stroke. Treatments
were assessed based on the clinical practice
guidelines.4,8-12 The nurses also received advice from
neurologists or diabetologists as necessary.