Educating patients' families on their level.
OBJECTIVE
To provide well-written, easy-to-read, comprehensible education materials without losing sight of their medical accuracy. PARTICIPANTS AND THEIR DUTIES: Employees from all hospital departments develop first drafts. A multidisciplinary committee, patient-education program (PEP), composed of a pharmacist, dietitian, respiratory therapist, radiology technician, medical illustrator, and inpatient and outpatient nurses facilitate these handouts. Laypeople critique the readability and experts evaluate content.


METHODS
Patient-education handouts are coded into one of seven divisions and tracked through the stages of writing, word processing, proofing by experts, proofing for readability, illustrating, printing, and distribution. PHARMACY PEP DESIGN: A medication template is used to standardize the format and general information that needs to be included in all medication education materials.


CONCLUSIONS
Through better-written and more comprehensible educational materials, patients' families are able to understand the medical treatment being rendered, thereby easing stress and encouraging their participation in total care.
Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH 45229.
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Knapp
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Hyde
D004522:Educational Status; D006745:Hospital Bed Capacity, 300 to 499; D006776:Hospitals, Pediatric / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009820:Ohio; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D011367:Professional Staff Committees; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D013664:Teaching Materials