Enhancing Health Literacy
with Written Materials
Discharge Solutions to
Reduce Readmissions
Health literacy predicts overall health better than any other factor, according to the American Medical Association (AMA).
It makes sense. Patients who understand their health and their treatment plans become engaged partners in their care. They are safer and more likely to use medications correctly. Because they know what to do and why it is important, they participate in preventative care and actively manage existing conditions.
The impact of health literacy has been researched extensively. Poor health literacy leads to poor compliance with treatment plans, higher risks of hospital readmission, and even a higher risk of death after discharge. One study of elderly patients found a 5-year mortality rate of 39.4% in patients with inadequate health literacy versus only 18.9% in those who understood their conditions well.
Barriers to health literacy
It can be difficult for patients to comprehend medical topics and achieve good health literacy at the best of times. Hospitalization — one of the primary times patients are taught by healthcare providers — is inherently one of the hardest times to learn.
Pain, fear, illness, stress, and many medications interfere with understanding and recall. Some conditions, like head injuries, directly inhibit cognitive functioning, hindering comprehension. Whether patients are facing a new diagnosis, surgery, or critical illness, there is often a lot of information to cover. The amount of information itself can be overwhelming, creating another barrier.
Further blocks to understanding can include:
• Complex information
• Low education level
• Language differences
• Age-related cognitive decline
Even if these obstacles are not present, the teaching method you choose can interfere with comprehension. The best practice is for healthcare providers to space out discharge instructions and teaching over the course of a hospitalization, but this doesn’t always happen. Time and staffing are short. Frequently, teaching gets crammed into a few minutes right before patients leave.
With all these factors, it’s no wonder that research finds a significant portion of patients can’t remember discharge instructions right after they leave the hospital.
Written discharge solutions
Written materials can help healthcare providers make the most of teaching. When given at admission as a bedside solution, patients can reference written health information throughout their hospital stay. When the patient is ready to go home, teaching on the day of discharge becomes a review and an opportunity to ask questions, and written discharge information can be added to the patient’s admission information so everything is in one place.
Giving written materials in addition to using other teaching methods is also a key to understanding. Most people do not comprehend information easily by listening alone. In one study, 98% of patients and their caregivers preferred having written resources rather than verbal instruction only. Long-standing research has shown that written discharge instructions increase compliance with treatment plans, help patients recall information, and reduce the chance of readmission.
Match patient needs for enhanced comprehension
Effective written materials match the patient's needs. They explain health concepts in a simple way at an appropriate reading level. Tables, checklists, pictures, and accessible design make a big difference. Research shows that well-designed infographics significantly improve discharge instruction recall.
Materials should also be translated into the patient's native language whenever possible. In the United States, Spanish-language translations are mandatory, with 42 million Americans reporting Spanish as their primary language.
Finding health information after discharge
No matter how diligently healthcare providers work to overcome barriers to understanding, patients will forget some information. Once they forget, they also tend to look for answers in unreliable places. According to the National Cancer Institute’s Health Information Trends Survey, 69% of people go to the internet for health information and only 16% to their doctor.
Most people know that the internet contains health misinformation, and they use it assuming that major websites are safe. However, expert reviewers examined 48 websites, including popular, widely referenced sites, and found the accuracy was only around 50%.
Patients are also more and more likely to turn to AI for health answers. A panel of orthopedic surgeons tested ChatGPT’s answers to patient questions about a total joint replacement surgery and found that only 52% of the answers were acceptable.
Giving patients an easily accessible, reliable reference for questions after discharge is critical. Written discharge instructions can provide this reference and help patients avoid poor decisions based on inaccurate information.
Conclusion
The right written materials can promote health literacy, combat misinformation, and inform health decisions so patients can have better outcomes. For the best results, equip patients with materials that are well-designed, well-written, and easy to understand. Patient Guide Solutions’ patient education materials were designed by a team of bedside nurses, physicians, and design professionals to match your patient’s health literacy needs.
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