- Communication Tip Sheet: The communication tip sheet adapted from Geriatric Physical Therapy provides a list of strategies to facilitate communication with older adults, as well as those with visual or hearing impairments.
- Everyday Words: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Everyday Words for Public Health Communication provides a glossary of health-related terms and suggested common, everyday alternatives used in plain language sentences.
- Health Literacy Toolkit: The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit provides tools to improve spoken and written communication for patients.
- Key Educational Points: Tool 3L: Patient and Family Education in the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Fall Prevention Toolkit provides a list of key educational points about fall risk reduction that can be included in patient education materials.
- Mini-Cog: The Mini-Cog: A Cognitive “Vital Signs” Measure for Dementia Screening, originally published in the International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry in 2000, provides a quick screen for dementia to help staff know if they need to adjust their patient education strategies.
- Patient/Family Handout: Moving Around Safely in Hospital – Information for Patients, Families and Carers from the Clinical Excellence Commission of the New South Wales (Australia) Ministry of Health is an example of an educational handout that can be provided to patients and families.
- Plain Language: The National Institutes of Health Plain Language: Getting Started or Brushing Up provides multiple tips to make written materials clear and visually appealing.
- Teach Back: Using Teach Back to Redesign Patient Teaching provides a step-by-step process for how to implement a teach back strategy into patient education. This document also includes a knowledge test and return demonstration checklist.
- Tips for Using Teach Back and Sample Test of Change: The How-to-Guide: Reducing Patient Injuries from Falls Toolkit from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement includes a section (pages 53-54) that describes how to implement teach back and another section (pages 55-57) with a sample test of change data report form that could be used to assess the implementation of teach back. The creation of a free Institute for Healthcare Improvement account is required to access this document.
- Toolkit for Written Material: The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Toolkit for Making Written Material Clear and Effective provides a set of tools that can make written materials easier for people to read, understand, and use.
Patient Family Education Resources