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Survey results of the Patient Pamphlets Service Quality Improvement Initiative

by Kallen Rutledge on 2022-02-14T08:30:00-04:00 in Health literacy, Patient Education, Patient Pamphlet | 0 Comments

In the fall of 2021, the Patient Education Team invited Nova Scotia Health staff and physicians to participate in a short online survey (13 questions), as part of a service quality improvement initiative. With the approval of the Central Zone Quality Improvement and Safety Council, the survey was released on November 1st and ran until we received submissions from a minimum number of participants in each zone (20).

Survey participation highlights by zone

Zone Central Eastern Northern Western Provincial Total
Participants 20 88 21 50 4 183

Key survey results:

*Please note, participants could select more than one response, therefore percentages may not add up to 100.

  1. Question: In your unit, clinic, or service area, who is responsible for patient teaching?

 RESULT The majority of respondents (46%) identified the floor nurse as the role responsible for patient teaching in their unit, clinic, or service area. This was followed by other clinical specialists (such as mental health clinician, lab technician, occupational therapist, or respiratory therapist) (25%), physician (20%), and charge nurse (18%).

  1. Question: In your unit, clinic, or service area, what type of patient education materials do you use to assist with patient teaching?

 RESULT The majority of respondents (75%) stated that they use Nova Scotia Health patient pamphlets to assist with patient teaching in their unit, clinic, or service area. Many staff and physicians also reported that they use additional resources not in the Nova Scotia Health pamphlet collection. These materials include resources created by their team (44%), as well as those created by other health care professionals (43%).

  1. Question: In your unit, clinic, or service area, how do you share patient education materials with your clients?

 RESULT The majority of respondents (89%) reported that they share a printed physical copy with the client. Sharing online links (presumably sent via email) was reported by 27% of respondents, while 22% of respondents reported showing the client a physical poster.

What have we learned so far?

  • Survey participants identified many health care roles involved in patient education. Library Services invites all staff to attend a training opportunity on patient education. This online class provides tips on how to access and share resources with patients and families.
  • All teaching materials, including posters, can be reviewed for plain language and readability by the Patient Education Team, whether or not the materials are in the Nova Scotia Health pamphlet collection. Readability reviews serve to accommodate the various health literacy levels of our patients and family members.
  • Plain language education materials encourage self-care and patient safety at home. These materials support patients who have low health literacy levels, reducing unnecessary Emergency Department visits and avoidable hospital admissions (Imoisili, Levinsohn, Pan, Howell, Streiter & Rosenbaum, 2017).
  • Remember to only share links to pamphlets, and not digital copies of potentially outdated pamphlets. This will ensure that patients have continuous access to the most up-to-date version of the material.
  • Nova Scotia Health's pamphlet collection contains many patient pamphlets in French, Arabic, and Simplified Chinese. We encourage staff to contact the Patient Education Team with their suggestions for pamphlets needing translation.

Stay tuned for the full survey results report, which Library Services will share in the near future!

Kallen Rutledge

Librarian Educator, Patient Education Pamphlets Lead
Nova Scotia Hospital, Central Zone


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