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So Many Materials, So Little Time: A Checklist to Select Printed Patient Education Materials for Clinical Practice
Author(s) -
Fraze Jami,
Griffith Judith,
Green Donata,
McElroy Laura
Publication year - 2010
Publication title -
journal of midwifery and women's health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.543
H-Index - 62
eISSN - 1542-2011
pISSN - 1526-9523
DOI - 10.1016/j.jmwh.2009.07.002
Subject(s) - atlanta , disease control , checklist , social marketing , human immunodeficiency virus (hiv) , disease prevention , medicine , family medicine , psychology , environmental health , pathology , metropolitan area , cognitive psychology
SummaryAfterevaluatingifahealtheducationmaterialisappropriateandpractical,theclinicianmakesthedecisionofwhetherornot to recommend it. When a new material is selected, theclinician should consider how to evaluate to what extent itis providing benets to patients. Informal evaluation ofa material’s use can be done by tracking the number of ma-terials distributed and obtaining feedback from patients. Itwould also be enlightening to garner staff perceptions ofthe materials and if they appear helpful for patients.DISCUSSIONThe most effective form of communication between a cli-nician and a patient is interactive discussion about a clini-cal issue. Clinicians have strong rapport with their patientswhousuallyvaluetheirguidance.Becausemanytopicsarecovered in health care and can overwhelm patients, printmaterials can aid in reinforcing patient education. 3 The currentchecklistfor selectingpatient educationma-terials has some limitations. Some educational marketingmaterials and sample products will not readily feature allthe information needed to address checklist questions.Commercial materials, for example, often provide a sam-ple,thepriceforvolumepurchase,andlanguagesavailablefor each product. However, they may not provide the read-abilitylevelorindicatewhetherformativeresearchwiththeintended audience informed material development.The last checklist question—‘‘How will I know if thismaterial is making a difference with my patients?’’—touches on the most important aspect of printed healthcare education materials. The impact of various types ofmaterials and delivery modalities on patient health is be-yond the scope of the checklist presented here. It encom-passes more detailed aspects, such as material content,cultural relevancy, and appropriate health literacylevel.