Important Facts On Patient Education Handouts
Among the many things healthcare workers are expected to do is to educate their patients. This is meant to help the clients understand their conditions better so that they can remain compliant to prescribed medications and other instructions. Patient education handouts are one of the most effective ways of doing this. There are a number of things that you need to know as you prepare this type of material.
You should start by conducting research that will help you understand your clients better. Data can be collected by engaging them in face to face interviews or having them fill questionnaires. Important information that you should collect includes their ages, their social status and the medical conditions that affect them. Let them express their main concerns regarding these conditions. The information that is obtained from this exercise can be used to place them into smaller homogeneous categories.
Once you get the required information about your clients, the next task is to create the text. It is the most important aspect of this exercise and should be accorded due diligence. The words chosen should be appropriate target audience. Construct short, concise sentences and avoid long explanations that may confuse the reader. The question and answer approach helps readers remember most of the information.
Adopt a professional tone in your writing and if you plan to include discussions in the material on various topics, do not be biased. Present all the views that exist and let the reader make their own decision. You may include advantages and disadvantages for each of the options presented so that they find it a bit easier to decide.
You need to include some form of illustrations in your work. These will not only make the handout more appealing but will also make the message easier to understand. Colored images are in particular quite expensive to produce but they may be a necessary expense. They have been shown to significantly affect the readability of materials. If you do not have enough finances, use icons rather than actual images.
Illustrations greatly help in providing a more vivid explanation. They also make the presentation a lot more appealing and increase readability. Some types of illustrations have no educational value and are simply used as fillers. Colored images are usually quite expensive to produce which increases the overall production cost. If you do not have enough money, consider using icons instead of actual images.
The text should be more about the client and not you, the facility. The recommendation is that at least 80% should be related to issues of health promotion. You can use the remaining 20% to inform the readers about the services that are available in your facility. You will be surprised that the retention rate of pre-existing clients and referrals of new clients will both increase.
The most effective way of getting cooperation of patients is through education. A better understanding of any condition greatly helps in its management. Of the many ways that exist, written literature that is given out as handouts is one of the most effective. If done professionally, these materials are the most economical method.
You should start by conducting research that will help you understand your clients better. Data can be collected by engaging them in face to face interviews or having them fill questionnaires. Important information that you should collect includes their ages, their social status and the medical conditions that affect them. Let them express their main concerns regarding these conditions. The information that is obtained from this exercise can be used to place them into smaller homogeneous categories.
Once you get the required information about your clients, the next task is to create the text. It is the most important aspect of this exercise and should be accorded due diligence. The words chosen should be appropriate target audience. Construct short, concise sentences and avoid long explanations that may confuse the reader. The question and answer approach helps readers remember most of the information.
Adopt a professional tone in your writing and if you plan to include discussions in the material on various topics, do not be biased. Present all the views that exist and let the reader make their own decision. You may include advantages and disadvantages for each of the options presented so that they find it a bit easier to decide.
You need to include some form of illustrations in your work. These will not only make the handout more appealing but will also make the message easier to understand. Colored images are in particular quite expensive to produce but they may be a necessary expense. They have been shown to significantly affect the readability of materials. If you do not have enough finances, use icons rather than actual images.
Illustrations greatly help in providing a more vivid explanation. They also make the presentation a lot more appealing and increase readability. Some types of illustrations have no educational value and are simply used as fillers. Colored images are usually quite expensive to produce which increases the overall production cost. If you do not have enough money, consider using icons instead of actual images.
The text should be more about the client and not you, the facility. The recommendation is that at least 80% should be related to issues of health promotion. You can use the remaining 20% to inform the readers about the services that are available in your facility. You will be surprised that the retention rate of pre-existing clients and referrals of new clients will both increase.
The most effective way of getting cooperation of patients is through education. A better understanding of any condition greatly helps in its management. Of the many ways that exist, written literature that is given out as handouts is one of the most effective. If done professionally, these materials are the most economical method.
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If you would like to provide patient education handouts to your patients or customers, come to Vivacare. Let us show you how to create your own personalized health library when you visit us online at http://www.vivacare.com today.
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