Patient Education Pamphlets – Print Codes

Check the classifications on the left side bar for active titles and order numbers, grouped by subject area. Each pamphlet in this print code index is listed by title (link opens PDF for viewing online), with the print code under the title, followed by the pamphlet owner and the date of creation or last revision. If you have a printed copy of a pamphlet, you'll find the print code on the back cover, in the lower left corner, with two letters and six numbers: XX85-####. The four digit number at the end of the print code is unique to that pamphlet title. 

Complete and submit the print shop requisition form to order pamphlets. If you wish to get a quote before submitting your print order, please contact print.nsha@dal.ca. The Print Shop can ship print copies anywhere in Nova Scotia; depending on your location there may be a shipping fee.

Contact pamphlets@nshealth.ca with any other pamphlet-related questions.

All of our active pamphlet titles are listed in this print code index, ordered first by category/service area, then by the unique 4 digit pamphlet code. If you want more details than just the title, print code, owner and date of last revision, please try searching the Library catalogue, in the search box below. 

If you want to link to the official pamphlet PDF on your department or service web page, you're welcome to - but please use our PDF link instead of downloading a copy of the PDF and uploading it again to your site; this ensures that your links will always lead to the current version of the pamphlet. 

Contact pamphlets@nshealth.ca with any questions. 

Related Policy: AD-LIB-001 Patient Education Materials: Development and Maintenance

To create a new pamphlet:

1. Check the current NSHA patient pamphlets collection (browse this libguide or search the library catalogue) in case we already have something you can use -- or contact pamphlets@nshealth.ca to ask if there is something in the active or archived collection, to avoid starting from scratch. 
2. Review the current NSHA patient education guidelines. There is a checklist for developing a new pamphlet to help you cover your bases (page 29 of the guidelines). We also include suggested scripts for covering diagnostic tests, inpatient and outpatient surgeries, medical conditions, health promotion, and unit information. You do not need to worry about formatting (e.g. fonts or bullet styles) in your draft; the Patient Education Team (PET) has standard formatting set up in our design software with NSHA branding and fonts.
3. Develop a draft. You may want to:
   • Consult with colleagues who have input on what content is appropriate for your unit/department.
   • Adapt an existing pamphlet from the NSHA collection, former DHAs or external health authorities. Contact pamphlets@nshealth.ca if you are considering requesting permission to adapt external materials, so we can support you with observing copyright and appropriate attribution statements.
   • Form a working group. Final approval of the content should come from the appropriate division head, clinical leader or an NSHA staff member in an appropriate clinical role, so they should be aware of the project as it gets underway.
   • Review our blog post on Tackling Complex Patient Pamphlet Projects for tips on longer projects. 
4. Submit your draft to pamphlets@nshealth.ca. Please tell us if you have a requested timeline, such as a planned working group meeting coming up. 
5. PET will review your draft for adherence to NSHA patient education standards, with a focus on plain language. We will let you know if we have any questions. PET will lay out the pamphlet in an NSHA patient pamphlet template in our design software. Our templates include:
   • Booklet style (5.5" x 8.5") -- our most common format
   • Tri-fold style (8.5" x 3.6") -- will fit in a standard business envelope for mailing
   • Letter-size single page handout (8.5" x 11") -- can be single or double sided; can be produced as a tear off pad if requested
   • Large size guide (8.5"x 11") -- for lengthy and complex documents 
6. After copyediting, PET will send you a PDF draft of the pamphlet for your consideration, feedback and approval. (Check our our tips for annotating a PDF with your edits and comments.) It is normal to send a few drafts back and forth with minor edits between the content creator and PET. The content creating team will approve the content, while the Librarian Educator (Patient Pamphlets) will approve the final document for NSHA patient education standards including language level and formatting. 
7. Once the Approval Form has been completed, PET will assign a print code, send a print file to the print shop, upload it to NSHA's patient information page for online viewing, and email you when processing is complete and copies can be ordered.

Checklist: Page 31 is the approval form needed at the end of the process, including approval of the division head or clinical leader, or someone else in a clinical role appropriate to approve the end product. 

Keep in mind:

1. Our goal is a 6th grade reading level.
2. Any medical terms need to be defined in plain language.
3. Bulleted lists are generally easier for people to skim than large blocks of text.
4. Don't worry about formatting your Word document to make it look like a pamphlet -- our software takes care of that.
5. If you need images to illustrate your content, we have some on hand, and we deal with copyright questions if you already have images selected. We can't use images found on the Internet without permission -- copyright is automatically owned by the creator.