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RAIN, SMOG, FOG and Printed Educational Material
Author(s) -
Mullan Judy R,
Crookes Patrick A,
Yeatman Heather R
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of pharmacy practice and research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.222
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 2055-2335
pISSN - 1445-937X
DOI - 10.1002/jppr2003334284
Subject(s) - readability , medicine , health literacy , patient education , literacy , health professionals , medical education , population , health care , family medicine , nursing , environmental health , psychology , pedagogy , economics , economic growth , philosophy , linguistics
Patient education is central to the practice of all health professionals. Pharmacists often use printed educational material, such as consumer medicine information, as adjuncts to verbal communication and education of patients about their medications. A relatively large proportion of the Australian population have low literacy skills and cannot read or understand written patient educational materials which are typically written at levels equivalent to year 9 and above. By using simple readability assessment tools such as RAIN, SMOG or FOG and the UK's Department of Health ‘Toolkit for producing patient information’ health professionals can ensure that printed educational materials are simple and easily read by a wide patient population. These measures will ensure that pharmacists can become more effective educators to improve patients' medication knowledge and understanding, which will assist with optimising compliance and overall therapeutic outcomes.