Seven practical principles for improving patient education: Evidence-based ideas from cognition science

An important role of the paediatrician is that of a teacher - every clinician is an educator to patients and their families. This education, however, often occurs under difficult or time-pressured learning conditions. The authors present principles derived from three basic theories of human cognition that may help to guide clinicians' instruction of parents and patients. Cognitive load theory holds that an individual's capacity to process information is finite. By controlling information flow rate, decreasing reliance on working memory and removing extraneous cognitive load, learning is improved. Dual code theory suggests that humans have separate cognitive 'channels' for text/audio information versus visual information. By constructing educational messages that take advantage of both channels simultaneously, information uptake may be improved. Multimedia theory is based on the notion that there is an optimal blend of media to accomplish a given learning objective. The authors suggest seven practical strategies that clinicians may use to improve patient education.