Educating patients is one of the roles of healthcare workers among many other things they do. If you run a private facility, there are many options that you may consider to achieve this. These include the use of short videos, conducting public lectures or providing written literature. Each of these options has advantages and disadvantages. Patient education handouts are generally cheaper and more effective. Here are a few things that you should know about the handouts.
You should start by conducting research that will help you understand your clients better. Data can be collected by engaging them in face to face interviews or having them fill questionnaires. Important information that you should collect includes their ages, their social status and the medical conditions that affect them. Let them express their main concerns regarding these conditions. The information that is obtained from this exercise can be used to place them into smaller homogeneous categories.
The next thing is to create the text that will go onto the handout. This is, without a doubt, the most important part of this entire project as it carries the message you want conveyed. Choose your words carefully and create short concise sentences that are devoid of convoluted explanations. Different formats may be taken in presenting the text but the question and answer approach appears to have the greatest impact.
You may either use a friendly or professional tone depending on the composition of your audience. At times, you have to deal with controversial topics. The best thing to do in such situations is to provide the reader with more than one view of the topic. List the benefits and downsides of each of them and let the reader make their own independent decision.
Illustrations are important as they help in explaining a message better. Unfortunately, they may inflate the production costs significantly. Colored images are most expensive to produce and should only be used when absolutely necessary. On the flip side, they make the presentation more appealing to the eye and have been shown to improve the readability of the materials. If faced with financial constraints, choose icons as opposed to actual images.
Illustrations greatly help in providing a more vivid explanation. They also make the presentation a lot more appealing and increase readability. Some types of illustrations have no educational value and are simply used as fillers. Colored images are usually quite expensive to produce which increases the overall production cost. If you do not have enough money, consider using icons instead of actual images.
The priority should be the client and not the facility. In fact, it is recommended that at least 80% of the content be reserved for educational information. The remaining 20% may be used to promote the facility. This may be done by informing the clients how you can intervene and make their health status better. Useful information will go a long way into earning you referrals even in the absence of direct marketing.
The most effective way of getting cooperation of patients is through education. A better understanding of any condition greatly helps in its management. Of the many ways that exist, written literature that is given out as handouts is one of the most effective. If done professionally, these materials are the most economical method.
You should start by conducting research that will help you understand your clients better. Data can be collected by engaging them in face to face interviews or having them fill questionnaires. Important information that you should collect includes their ages, their social status and the medical conditions that affect them. Let them express their main concerns regarding these conditions. The information that is obtained from this exercise can be used to place them into smaller homogeneous categories.
The next thing is to create the text that will go onto the handout. This is, without a doubt, the most important part of this entire project as it carries the message you want conveyed. Choose your words carefully and create short concise sentences that are devoid of convoluted explanations. Different formats may be taken in presenting the text but the question and answer approach appears to have the greatest impact.
You may either use a friendly or professional tone depending on the composition of your audience. At times, you have to deal with controversial topics. The best thing to do in such situations is to provide the reader with more than one view of the topic. List the benefits and downsides of each of them and let the reader make their own independent decision.
Illustrations are important as they help in explaining a message better. Unfortunately, they may inflate the production costs significantly. Colored images are most expensive to produce and should only be used when absolutely necessary. On the flip side, they make the presentation more appealing to the eye and have been shown to improve the readability of the materials. If faced with financial constraints, choose icons as opposed to actual images.
Illustrations greatly help in providing a more vivid explanation. They also make the presentation a lot more appealing and increase readability. Some types of illustrations have no educational value and are simply used as fillers. Colored images are usually quite expensive to produce which increases the overall production cost. If you do not have enough money, consider using icons instead of actual images.
The priority should be the client and not the facility. In fact, it is recommended that at least 80% of the content be reserved for educational information. The remaining 20% may be used to promote the facility. This may be done by informing the clients how you can intervene and make their health status better. Useful information will go a long way into earning you referrals even in the absence of direct marketing.
The most effective way of getting cooperation of patients is through education. A better understanding of any condition greatly helps in its management. Of the many ways that exist, written literature that is given out as handouts is one of the most effective. If done professionally, these materials are the most economical method.
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If you would like to provide patient education handouts to your patients or customers, come to Vivacare. Let us show you how to create your own personalized health library when you visit us online at http://www.vivacare.com today.
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