Browsing by Subject "Health communication"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    Biostatistics and Health Data Science, School of Medicine
    (JMIR, 2021-11-25) Zhang, Zhan; Kmoth, Lukas; Luo, Xiao; He, Zhe; Biostatistics and Health Data Science, Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health
    Background: Personal clinical data, such as laboratory test results, are increasingly being made available to patients via patient portals. However, laboratory test results are presented in a way that is difficult for patients to interpret and use. Furthermore, the indications of laboratory test results may vary among patients with different characteristics and from different medical contexts. To date, little is known about how to design patient-centered technology to facilitate the interpretation of laboratory test results. Objective: The aim of this study is to explore design considerations for supporting patient-centered communication and comprehension of laboratory test results, as well as discussions between patients and health care providers. Methods: We conducted a user-centered, multicomponent design research consisting of user studies, an iterative prototype design, and pilot user evaluations, to explore design concepts and considerations that are useful for supporting patients in not only viewing but also interpreting and acting upon laboratory test results. Results: The user study results informed the iterative design of a system prototype, which had several interactive features: using graphical representations and clear takeaway messages to convey the concerning nature of the results; enabling users to annotate laboratory test reports; clarifying medical jargon using nontechnical verbiage and allowing users to interact with the medical terms (eg, saving, favoriting, or sorting); and providing pertinent and reliable information to help patients comprehend test results within their medical context. The results of a pilot user evaluation with 8 patients showed that the new patient-facing system was perceived as useful in not only presenting laboratory test results to patients in a meaningful way but also facilitating in situ patient-provider interactions. Conclusions: We draw on our findings to discuss design implications for supporting patient-centered communication of laboratory test results and how to make technology support informative, trustworthy, and empathetic.
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    Communicating Critical Information to Cancer Survivors: an Assessment of Survivorship Care Plans in Use in Diverse Healthcare Settings
    (Springer, 2021) Lyson, Helena C.; Haggstrom, David; Bentz, Michael; Obeng-Gyasi, Samilia; Dixit, Niharika; Sarkar, Urmimala; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Purpose: Survivorship care plans (SCPs) serve to communicate critical information needed for cancer survivors’ long-term follow-up care. The extent to which SCPs are tailored to meet the specific needs of underserved patient populations is understudied. To fill this gap, this study aimed to assess the content and communication appropriateness of SCPs collected from diverse health care settings. Methods: We analyzed collected SCPs (n=16) for concordance with Institute of Medicine (IOM) recommendations for SCP content and for communication appropriateness using the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) instrument. Results: All plans failed to incorporate all IOM criteria, with the majority of plans (n=11) incorporating less than 60% of recommended content. The average reading grade level of all the plans was 14, and only one plan received a superior rating for cultural appropriateness. Conclusion: There is significant variation in the format and content of SCPs used in diverse hospital settings and most plans are not written at an appropriate reading grade level nor tailored for underserved and/or minority patient populations. Implications for Cancer Survivors: Co-designing SCPs with diverse patient populations is crucial to ensure that these documents are meeting the needs and preferences of all cancer survivors.
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    Communicating Research to Non-Researcher Audiences: A Panel Discussion From the National Cancer Institute’s Future of Cancer Health Economics Research Conference
    (Oxford University Press, 2022) Chino, Fumiko; Carroll, Aaron; Sanger-Katz, Margot; Dusetzina, Stacie B.; Zafar, S. Yousuf; Pediatrics, School of Medicine
    With rising health-care costs and increasing patient financial strain, health economics research has never been more relevant to the lay public. This manuscript summarizes the discussion from the "Communicating Health Economics Research to Non-Researcher Audiences" expert panel and highlights the foundations of good health/science communication, distilling your work into a newsworthy headline, and communication concerns in specific scenarios. It also provides "dos and don'ts" for promoting your research to the news media and a list of resources on interacting with the press for further study.
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    Designing for Health Literacy
    (2018) Gottschild, Kimberly; Wada, Terri; Richards, Bryan; Stump, Emily
    Health literacy is recognized worldwide as a key to obtaining and maintaining personal health. A health literate individual who has the access to resources that they can both understand and navigate can make empowered, personal health decisions both on their own and with their health care provider, and the benefits thereof are many. For example, health literacy has been shown to prevent disease, lead to early detection of disease, and lead to improved adherence to chronic disease treatment. Yet, only a fraction of the population is considered health literate. Women and immigrants in particular need health provider supported health literacy development strategies that focus on empathy and emotional support to help motivate them to make health decisions for a preferred health outcome. Health literacy is dependent upon the communication of health information. Various communication strategies exist to support the delivery of health information and ecological models have also been developed to support heath information delivery more effectively through multiple sources. Regarding the type of health information communicated, research has suggested that patients prefer information on actionable solutions rather than facts about the condition itself. Solution-focused, strengths-based, and participatory design strategies have also been shown to be effective in increasing health literacy skills. Participatory, generative design research tools engage participants to elicit deeper emotions regarding their current state and preferred future state and could be useful in supporting health literacy development. How might generative tools support women's and immigrants' health literacy development within an ecological health literacy model? Research was conducted to explore how participatory, generative design research tools could be an effective approach to help female and immigrant patients realize their health potential by empowering them with health literacy skills through accessible and engaging health information aligned with their personal strengths and identified solutions. Generative tools, such as interviews, worksheets, and journey mapping, that could potentially help women and immigrants express both their current and ideal future state, were explored. Generative tools were iterated to allow patients to align their personal strengths, solutions, and health information with their ideal future state in order to create a roadmap tool that could support health literacy development and assist them in realizing their potential in health situations. The resulting literature review-based generative health literacy toolkit was tested at the Indiana University School of Medicine Student Outreach Clinic. Nursing students, who serve the role of patient navigators, engaged their patients with the toolkit activities. Surveys to measure patient confidence in realizing their health potential were also conducted before and after intervention. Findings included a health literacy ecosystem that comprises at least two levels for health information communication, actionable health information patients can utilize to improve their health condition, and patient generated strategies for treatment plan and lifestyle change adherence in everyday life outlined in a journey map form that can be taken home for reference and motivation. Outcomes of toolkit use in the clinic included improved communication between providers and patients, as well as patient empowerment to move forward with improved health behaviors.
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    Obstetrician/gynecologists' HPV vaccination recommendations among women and girls 26 and younger
    (Elsevier, 2022-03-15) Brennan, Luke P.; Rodriguez, Natalia M.; Head, Katharine J.; Zimet, Gregory D.; Kasting, Monica L.; Communication Studies, School of Liberal Arts
    Background: Obstetrician/gynecologists (OB/GYNs) are well poised to vaccinate girls and young women against HPV, however little is known about if and how they recommend the HPV vaccine. This study aims to understand factors associated with strong and frequent HPV vaccine recommendations among OB/GYNs for patients 26 years and younger. Methods: 224 practicing U.S. OB/GYNs were surveyed for how strongly and frequently they recommend the HPV vaccine to patients 26 and younger. Provider beliefs, knowledge, and preferences surrounding the vaccine, as well as clinic and patient-level variables were examined as covariates. We then examined the relationships using multivariable logistic regression analyses. Results: Of the 224 respondents, 205 were included in the analysis, with 57% (n = 116) reporting strongly and frequently recommending the HPV vaccination to eligible patients 26 and younger. The regression showed two provider beliefs and two clinic-level attributes to be strongly associated with strong and frequent recommendations. Being a strong and frequent recommender was positively associated with believing other gynecologists frequently recommend the vaccine (aOR 24.33 95%CI[2.56-231.14]) and believing that 50% or more of their patients are interested in receiving the vaccine (aOR 2.77 95%CI[1.25-6.13]). The clinic-level attributes were having the vaccine stocked (aOR 2.66 95%CI[1.02-6.93]) and suburban (aOR 3.31 95%CI[1.07-10.19]) or urban (aOR 3.54 95%CI[1.07-11.76]) location versus rural. Conclusions: These findings suggest that OB/GYN peer support and educating OB/GYN about patients' interest in HPV vaccination may improve HPV vaccination. This work can inform clinic-level interventions including stocking the vaccine and focusing improvement efforts on rural clinics.
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    ROLE MODEL EFFECTS ON HEALTH COMMUNICATION PRACTICES
    (2007-07-24T18:23:49Z) Googasian, Mary Elizabeth; Parrish-Sprowl, John; Sheeler, Kristina; Sandwina, Ronald M.
    The pursuit of a healthy lifestyle has become an important activity to large portions of the population. Health information and research has become readily available to the general public via the Internet and other communication vehicles and public health programs. As information becomes accessible, so too does the opportunity for individuals to take added ownership in seeking their own health care. The purpose of this research was to examine the role of gender in the decision that leads to individuals seeking regular health care. It focuses on the motivations that influence men and women when managing their regular preventative care. Despite the disparity in health care utilization between men and women, both positive and negative role models positively influence health and wellness. Constructs of masculinity and femininity continue to impact the utilization of health care procurement. Improving our health and providing a role model for our children offers the greatest potential for improving the health of our nation.