Addressing functional h...

What’s the point of providing printed materials to your patients and their families if they are unable to read them, understand them, and apply the information to improve self-care behaviors? Poor functional health literacy is the source of much non-adherence to the medical...

Patient Education Video...

Most patients considering surgery want to know the risks, the benefits, how much pain to expect, what condition they will be in after surgery, and how long it will be before they are functioning again. They are not interested in the details of what is actually done during surgery....

Tools to support behavi...

Looking for tools to support behavior changes that improve health outcomes? Support for behavior change resource (SBCR) maintains a searchable database of tools, programs, and research relating to diabetes self care: http://ndep.nih.gov/sbcr/SBCRSearchTool.aspx?BehaviorType=target The...

A patient education res...

I just discovered a number of videos related to patient education on the Discovery Channel website. You can access them by putting into your search engine: “discovery channel” “patient education” They offer videos on diabetes, breast cancer, future life in...

Free white paper on Usi...

Social media help individuals interact online. They include Internet forums, message boards, texting via mobile devices, blogs, social networks such as Facebook and MySpace, wikis, podcasts, Twitter, pictures, and video. Have you been thinking that social media might be useful in...

HCEA Webinar on Connect...

On Wednesday, November 3, 2010 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM (Eastern Time) the Health Care Education Association (HCEA) will offer a webinar: Connecting with Communities through Social Media: Can We Be Friends? presented by Christine Black O’Malley, the Executive Director of the Office...

Information needs of ca...

Recently, in the UK, researchers examined whether and how information needs differ for patients at different stages of the cancer journey. They had 187 participants in this study. They found, indeed, informational needs change over time, before, during, and after cancer treatments....

Are you SURE they under...

Yes, another study has come out with the same results. This one compared the beliefs of cardiologists and patients about the benefits of percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This intervention reduces chronic stable angina, but does not reduce heart attacks (myocardial infarction)...

Has YouTube helped to c...

We used to think patients and families were spoiled by the quality of television and movies, and would not be interested in patient teaching videos made in-house. We thought they’d be so distracted by the poor camera work and lighting, they wouldn’t pay attention to the...

Using Pictographs and P...

Recently Joint Commission released Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient- and Family-Centered Care: A Roadmap for Hospitals (2010). This monograph offers recommendations to help hospitals address unique patient needs, meet the new patient-centered communication...