Application: Health Information Patient Handout

One of the pivotal goals of consumer health literacy efforts is to design educational materials thatattract as well as educate users. In this Assignment, you design a health information document on a topic that is of interest to you.

To prepare:

·         Select a health issue of interest to you.

·         Identify the audience or population that you seek to educate about this issue.

·         Search the Internet to find credible sites containing information about your selected topic.

·         Review the two health literacy websites listed in this week’s Learning Resources. Focus on strategies for presenting information.

The Harvard School of Public Health. (2010). Health literacy studies. Retrieved from  http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/healthliteracy     
         

 This website provides information and resources related to health literacy. The site details the field of health literacy and also includes research findings, policy reports and initiatives, and practice strategies and tools.

Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (n.d.). Health literacy online. Retrieved June 19, 2012, from http://www.health.gov/healthliteracyonline/

           This webpage supplies a guide to writing and designing health websites aimed at increasing health literacy. The guide presents six strategies that should be used when developing health websites.

To complete:

·         Design an educational handout on the health issue you selected.

o    Include a cover page.

o    Include an introduction that provides:

§  An explanation of your issue and why you selected it

§  A description of the audience you are addressing

o    In the handout itself:

§  Develop your handout in such a way that it attracts the attention of the intended audience.

§  Include a description of the health issue and additional content that will enhance your message (i.e., key terms and definitions, graphics, illustrations, etc.).

§  Recommend four or five sites that provide clear, valuable, and reliable information on the topic.

Note: Remember to keep the information in your health handout and its design at the appropriate level for the audience you are seeking to inform. Submit your Assignment as a Word document.