I looked forward to seeing the published proceedings of a one-day roundtable on health literacy held by the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies in November 2017. I find the topic of health literacy compelling. As a writer, I know how challenging it is to communicate clearly about anything, never mind something as […]
This is the third post in my series on how to engage patients through written materials. In February, I wrote about three pillars to creating health-literate material: purpose, audience, and input. In March, I offered two tips for writing engaging content: use question-style headings and explain technical terms you cannot avoid using. Of course, there are […]
Editor’s Note: MedStar Health’s Simulation Training and Education Lab was recognized as a finalist for the 2018 Sherman Award for Excellence in Patient Engagement for its digital patient education program. The Sherman Award is co-sponsored by Taylor Healthcare and the IHI/NPSF Lucian Leape Institute. In addition to selecting Sherman Award winners each year, the judges name finalists when the caliber […]
There’s one thing on which most patient advocates agree: the quality of written communications can help motivate patients to participate in their own care and improve their health literacy. In my post last month, I discussed how to do this with written materials. I try to build each document around three pillars: audience, purpose, and […]
To say “I had a few questions” after learning I had a brain tumor is an understatement. Born on the cusp between Generation X and the Millennials, my instinctual response as a patient—after posting a hospital selfie to Instagram, of course—is to Google every new medical term I encounter. For the most part, I find […]
I recently attended a lecture by a high school English teacher on the topic of empowerment. She shared the results of an experiment she had done in her classroom where she tried to improve her students’ care and storage of notebook computers used during class. She described engaging her students by sharing with them how […]
One common thread connects all aspects of patient engagement: To truly engage patients, we must communicate with them in health-literate ways so they can be active participants in their own care. For written materials (digital or print), that means using the principles of plain language. While there is a lot written about the need to […]
Providing patients and family caregivers with understandable health information might seem like common sense, but it’s not as common as you might think – and its impact on care has big implications when it comes to health outcomes and the cost of healthcare. The Institute of Medicine defines health literacy as “the degree to which […]
In my post last month about integrating health literacy within an organization, I wrote about using an organization’s own strategic planning to help make your case for integrating health literacy and patient engagement. Well, just a few days after I submitted that post, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS), through its own […]
Picture this: you are speaking to a group of leaders in a health system. They aren’t on their smartphones answering emails; they are engaged, interested and listening to every word you say. How great would that feel? I know; I know. This is not reality. So the question becomes, how do you engage these decision-makers […]