Editor’s note: This post, originally published in June 2018, was the third post in Trudeau’s series on how to engage patients through written materials. In February, he wrote about three pillars to creating health-literate material: purpose, audience, and input. In March, he offered two tips for writing engaging content: use question-style headings and explain technical terms […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
Since October is Health Literacy Month, this is a good time to look at how addressing health literacy can help healthcare organizations advance patient engagement. An individual’s “health literacy” refers to their capacity to find and use information and services to take care of their health.[1] A “health literate healthcare organization” refers to an organization […]