There are many ways of passing information to patients within a healthcare facilities. One of the most effective yet economical option involves the use of patient education handouts. The handouts can be customized to communicate different messages and help in promoting the facility at the same time. There are four main components that are considered when preparing these handouts. These include the content, the illustrations to be included, the design and the production.
The content refers to the text that is to be put on the paper. The main consideration when creating the text is to capture the main message that is to be communicated. Prepare an outline of what you intend to include on the material. Determine how much is to go into each paragraph. One of the most common (and effective) approaches used is the question and answer format.
If you have been in practice for long coming up with the questions which are commonly asked by patients and their answers will be fairly easy. You can set up interviews with your colleagues to help you generate more ideas. They will not only suggest more questions that you should include in the handout but will also advise you on the aspects that should be emphasized.
Many of the patients that one has to handle in a hospital or clinic form a heterogeneous group. The many and varied needs make it quite difficult to develop a handout that will effectively pass the intended message. To overcome this, one needs to break down the group into smaller units. This segmentation can be done based on factors such as age, the medical condition concerned, gender and so on.
The level of vocabulary used should correspond to the education level of your patients. Keep the sentences simple, concise and objective. Do not go into too much detail as this will most likely make your audience lose interest. For example, instead of addressing hypertension in general, focus on the lifestyle changes that can be made to ensure that blood pressure remains controlled if this is your main agenda.
Illustrations should be included to reduce the monotony of reading text and to add color to your presentation. They are broadly classified into two; informational and filler. Informational illustrations are meant to educate and serve to help explain an idea. Filler illustrations, on the other hand have no real value. They may include for example, a happy mother who has delivered a baby or a senior basking in the sun.
The design is the packaging process that is adopted. The type of design that is chosen will determine whether or not the material you have prepared will generate interest. The main considerations of design include color, font and readability. You may have to do some prior research to determine what would appeal to your target audience.
If you feel that you are not up to the task or are too busy to prepare the materials, consider outsourcing it. In this case, the agency will take up the role of research, designing and producing the handouts taking into account your desires. This frees you up and ensures that your daily routine remains uninterrupted. The main disadvantage is that the process often ends up being very expensive especially if you have plans of producing regular title.
The content refers to the text that is to be put on the paper. The main consideration when creating the text is to capture the main message that is to be communicated. Prepare an outline of what you intend to include on the material. Determine how much is to go into each paragraph. One of the most common (and effective) approaches used is the question and answer format.
If you have been in practice for long coming up with the questions which are commonly asked by patients and their answers will be fairly easy. You can set up interviews with your colleagues to help you generate more ideas. They will not only suggest more questions that you should include in the handout but will also advise you on the aspects that should be emphasized.
Many of the patients that one has to handle in a hospital or clinic form a heterogeneous group. The many and varied needs make it quite difficult to develop a handout that will effectively pass the intended message. To overcome this, one needs to break down the group into smaller units. This segmentation can be done based on factors such as age, the medical condition concerned, gender and so on.
The level of vocabulary used should correspond to the education level of your patients. Keep the sentences simple, concise and objective. Do not go into too much detail as this will most likely make your audience lose interest. For example, instead of addressing hypertension in general, focus on the lifestyle changes that can be made to ensure that blood pressure remains controlled if this is your main agenda.
Illustrations should be included to reduce the monotony of reading text and to add color to your presentation. They are broadly classified into two; informational and filler. Informational illustrations are meant to educate and serve to help explain an idea. Filler illustrations, on the other hand have no real value. They may include for example, a happy mother who has delivered a baby or a senior basking in the sun.
The design is the packaging process that is adopted. The type of design that is chosen will determine whether or not the material you have prepared will generate interest. The main considerations of design include color, font and readability. You may have to do some prior research to determine what would appeal to your target audience.
If you feel that you are not up to the task or are too busy to prepare the materials, consider outsourcing it. In this case, the agency will take up the role of research, designing and producing the handouts taking into account your desires. This frees you up and ensures that your daily routine remains uninterrupted. The main disadvantage is that the process often ends up being very expensive especially if you have plans of producing regular title.
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