Health Literacy and Patient Engagement: Strategies for Designing Effective Patient-Facing Materials

Session Description: Health literacy refers to the ability of individuals to obtain, process, and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Health literacy is crucial because it enables individuals to make informed decisions about their health, understand and follow medical instructions, affects self-efficacy, and effectively navigate the healthcare system, ultimately leading to better health outcomes. Creating patient-facing materials is becoming a more common feature of CE programs to support patients in their search for information, yet the skills and strategies needed to create, deliver, and measure educational content for patients are not widely addressed.
The creation of impactful patient-facing materials requires that they are fit for purpose, accessible, engaging, and informative. This session is dedicated to exploring considerations and best practices for designing such materials, with a focus on language, readability, visuals, and stakeholder perspectives.
In this session we will hear from Supporter and Provider on trends in patient education and engagement, when it is appropriate for patient-facing materials to be included in CE programs and shared experiences in funding and developing these materials.
It is critical to address the pivotal role of language and readability in patient-facing materials. Attendees will learn strategies for crafting clear, concise, compliant, and culturally sensitive content that caters to diverse patient populations. Emphasis will be placed on techniques to ensure comprehension across varying literacy levels, fostering empowerment and informed decision-making, as appropriate. Examples will be used to allow attendees to assess readability and understanding of the content.
Subsequently, the discussion will delve into the integration of visuals to enhance the effectiveness of patient materials. Attendees will explore the impact of incorporating graphics, illustrations, and multimedia elements to augment understanding and engagement. Best practices for selecting, designing, and implementing visuals will be elucidated, with a focus on accessibility and universal design principles.
The session will conclude with a review of some example materials for the attendees to critically review and the panel to provide their perspective/recommendations for improvement.
Attendees will leave equipped with practical insights and tools to create impactful resources that promote patient engagement, comprehension, and empowerment in healthcare settings.