What do consumers want in written information provided by Metro North?

In 2020 an audit was undertaken to assess the quality of patient information or brochures given to Metro North consumers to improve health literacy.

The audit found that there was inconsistent patient feedback provided in the development of the brochures. To address this challenge, the Consumer Written Information working group was established by the Metro North Partnering With Consumers (Standard 2) Committee. This group is composed of three consumers and eight staff who self-nominated and had an interest in this area.

To improve the consumers’ perspective in the development of brochure the committee sought to develop of a set of principles detailing what patients and carers wanted to see in all patient information. To understand likes, dislikes and wants, a five-step engagement process was developed.

Step 1: Four brochures sent to 40 consumers for review

Step 2: Five consumers provided feedback on ‘likes’, ‘dislikes’ and ‘wants’

Step 3: Feedback was collated and expanded by the working group of 11 people

Step 4: Feedback was prioritized in a survey of 18 engagement leads and consumers

Step 5: The top ideas were themed into 8 principles

The outcomes of this engagement saw the development of eight consumer principles for improved consumer written information. This included improvements to what is in the brochure, how it looks and the language as articulated in the following points:

1. Written information is easy to understand through structured information like sub-headings, bullet points or other mechanisms
2. Written information is visually engaging with photos, graphics and the use of colours, but not overwhelming
3. Written information uses inclusive, welcoming language, rather than cold clinical writing
4. Written information is personalised as much as possible to a circumstance, medical condition or ward
5. Written information has a statement under the heading to explain the purpose of the brochure in simple language
6. There are clear instructions about importance of seeking urgent medical attention
7. There is a space to reminding patients to write down questions for treating team
8. There is a statement addressing the importance of learning about your condition to support your health.

It was recognised that some consumers may not like to ‘hear’ or ‘accept’ their poor health; to them poor health may be a sensitive issue. As such principle 8) was changed from – “There is a statement addressing anxiety related to treatment which offers resources and support” to “There is a statement addressing the importance of learning about your condition to support your health”.

These principles are now being used in the development of consumer written information and have been embedded into the templates used by staff to create patient information. In late 2021 they will be included in the revised Consumer Written Information Procedure.

2022 Updates

A new procedure to guide staff developing patient information was introduced in January 2022. Caboolture Hospital shared examples of how they have applied the new procedure to develop new communication tools for patients including, “Welcome to the Ward” booklets, and options for patients who experience long waits in the Emergency Department.