Both patients and families require helpful information, skills and support throughout the hospitalization for craniotomy surgery to ensure effective coping patterns. Research has demonstrated that patients who have participated in successful teaching programmes exhibit less anxiety and develop a more positive perception of their health care experience. The purpose of this paper is to examine the development, content, implementation and evaluation of a multimedia educational programme, designed to respond to the identified learning needs of the preoperative craniotomy patients and families. In order to identify learning needs, data from a sample of 25 postoperative patients and families was compared with the perceived learning needs of this same study group contributed by 48 nursing staff.