It is increasingly becoming evident that patients who are well educated about their illnesses are likely to adhere to treatment than those who are not. This is likely to result into better outcomes. There are many channels of communication that can be used. Each is associated with a number of benefits and downsides. The choice is usually determined by factors such as cost, accessibility and effectiveness. Patient handouts are increasingly becoming the preferred choice for many centers.
Identifying your target audience should be your first task. Audience specific characteristic greatly influence the content. Such will include, the nature of diseases and medical conditions being treated at the facility, the demographic characteristics of patients and the objective of the message. It is important that you conduct some research beforehand to establish what applies in your case. If you are dealing with a large heterogeneous target audience then you may need to segment it into smaller groups.
After identification of the target audience, the next step is to create the content of the brochure. The easiest way to do this is to start by creating an outline (or rough draft). Finer adjustments can be made later on before the creation of the final message. Choose your level of vocabulary carefully so that it can be understood by your target audience easily. The sentences should preferably be short and concise.
Choose the format to use based on the specific circumstances. One of the commonest formats used involves titles and subtitles. Titles usually introduce the reader to the main topic while subtopics expound the main topics further. For example, if a condition such as diarrhea is being discussed, subtitles may include the causes, prevention, treatment and complications. Another popular format that may be chosen is the question and answer format.
Illustrations are an important inclusion in the handouts. One of the benefits is that they help audiences to understand the topics better. An example is the use of an image of the heart to explain cardiovascular diseases. These types of illustrations are known as educational illustrations. The other type includes the filler illustrations mainly used to make the reading experience more interesting without necessarily adding any knowledge.
You need to be creative to attract wider readership. Modifying the handout into a useful item will ensure that the patients remain with it for a long time and refer to it from time to time. Having a calendar printed on one side or modifying the brochure to a bookmark are just but a few examples of ideas that can be adopted.
Advertisements can be made through handouts alongside the other information. You will likely benefit more if the advertisements are in line with the subject matter. If a brochure is discussing cancers, for instance, the advertisement may relate to interventions that can be made to manage the specific cancers discussed. Even as you do this, strive to keep the advertisements at less than 20% of the content.
Handouts for patient education continue to be an important communication tool in the healthcare filed. Each is customized depending on client characteristics and the facility. The design and production process is quite demanding and many people. Outsourcing is an option for persons that feel inadequate in knowledge or time.
Identifying your target audience should be your first task. Audience specific characteristic greatly influence the content. Such will include, the nature of diseases and medical conditions being treated at the facility, the demographic characteristics of patients and the objective of the message. It is important that you conduct some research beforehand to establish what applies in your case. If you are dealing with a large heterogeneous target audience then you may need to segment it into smaller groups.
After identification of the target audience, the next step is to create the content of the brochure. The easiest way to do this is to start by creating an outline (or rough draft). Finer adjustments can be made later on before the creation of the final message. Choose your level of vocabulary carefully so that it can be understood by your target audience easily. The sentences should preferably be short and concise.
Choose the format to use based on the specific circumstances. One of the commonest formats used involves titles and subtitles. Titles usually introduce the reader to the main topic while subtopics expound the main topics further. For example, if a condition such as diarrhea is being discussed, subtitles may include the causes, prevention, treatment and complications. Another popular format that may be chosen is the question and answer format.
Illustrations are an important inclusion in the handouts. One of the benefits is that they help audiences to understand the topics better. An example is the use of an image of the heart to explain cardiovascular diseases. These types of illustrations are known as educational illustrations. The other type includes the filler illustrations mainly used to make the reading experience more interesting without necessarily adding any knowledge.
You need to be creative to attract wider readership. Modifying the handout into a useful item will ensure that the patients remain with it for a long time and refer to it from time to time. Having a calendar printed on one side or modifying the brochure to a bookmark are just but a few examples of ideas that can be adopted.
Advertisements can be made through handouts alongside the other information. You will likely benefit more if the advertisements are in line with the subject matter. If a brochure is discussing cancers, for instance, the advertisement may relate to interventions that can be made to manage the specific cancers discussed. Even as you do this, strive to keep the advertisements at less than 20% of the content.
Handouts for patient education continue to be an important communication tool in the healthcare filed. Each is customized depending on client characteristics and the facility. The design and production process is quite demanding and many people. Outsourcing is an option for persons that feel inadequate in knowledge or time.
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