Helen Osborne's Tips: The Power of Pictures

Tips for February 2006
by Helen Osborne

Reprinted with permission.

Patients and their family members need to consistently and completely understand health information. They need this in order to understand how to access care, follow directions, recognize emergencies, and comply with other health tasks.

But many people have trouble understanding health information. One reason can be due to readers' limited literacy or learning skills. Another reason may be that the information itself is very difficult. Almost always, problems in understanding arise when there are mismatches between ways patients learn and how information is presented.

Pictures and other visual aids can help patients "get the picture" of what health professionals are talking or writing about.

... read tips for using visual aids and learn about Helen's workshop "How to Draw and Use Pictographs" at her website:
http://www.healthliteracy.com/tip-feb2006.html