130 likes | 338 Views
How learning about health literacy helped us design better patient information. Lizzie Perdeaux. Health literacy is…. … the ability of an individual to obtain, understand and process health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions. Why does it matter?.
E N D
How learning about health literacy helped us design better patient information Lizzie Perdeaux
Health literacy is… … the ability of an individual to obtain, understand and process health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions
Why does it matter? People with poor health literacy: • Have poorer health • Find medication difficult to manage • Have greater mortality rates
SMOG scoring SMOG = “Simple measure of gobbledegook” http://www.niace.org.uk/misc/SMOG-calculator/smogcalc.php Paste text here
SMOG scoring SMOG = “Simple measure of gobbledegook” http://www.niace.org.uk/misc/SMOG-calculator/smogcalc.php
Golden rules • Simple language • Short sentences • Larger fonts with plenty of white space • Use bold lowercase for emphasis (not CAPITALS, italics or underlined) • Left justify rather than fully justify • Simplify numerical information • Don’t use pictures unless directly relevant to the text • Aim for a SMOG score of 12… • User-test everything
Our existing patient leaflets SMOG score = 18
New leaflets SMOG score = 12
User testing • What three organs are affected by BHD? • What causes BHD? • How do you know if you have BHD? • Where can you get more information about BHD?
User comments “As I read I wondered how life-threatening BHD is.” “Can people with BHD live a normal life?” “Do BHD patients spend months in hospital? Do they die early?”
Thank you for listening… www.BHDSyndrome.org lizzie@MyrovlytisTrust.org