Principle 6

Enable Patient Learning

Resources to support you

Thought Starters

Explaining Biological Processes Explaining Data Explaining Clinical Trials Explaining Health-Related Finances Explaining Risks & Benefits

We believe that when we enable patient learning, we empower patients to improve their own healthcare experience and support them in achieving their clinical outcomes.

It is our responsibility to communicate to patients to help them better navigate their healthcare journies. This includes explaining medical concepts to help them understand their disease or treatment options. Not every patient needs or wants the same information. Therefore, we should provide a wide array of high-quality, holistic educational materials that genuinely seek to inform patients about their illnesses and associated implications.

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UPL Rules

The UPL Rules provide detailed guidance on how each of the Principles can be applied in practice.

Below is a sample of rules pertaining to Enable Patient Learning:

Rule 1. Treat every communication as an opportunity to teach patients new concepts that will help them navigate their healthcare journey.

Define or translate common medical terminology and jargon in patient- friendly terms — easy to understand, but not oversimplified.
Provide the background that patients need to understand their overall medical situation.

Rule 4. Keep your content relevant to the patient journey.

Adults are primarily motivated to learn things that are relevant to them and their experience, so keep your communication focused on topics that are useful and practical for patients.
Be explicit about how your communication can help patients achieve goals related to their healthcare journey.
Use authentic and relatable patient stories to help patients understand important concepts. Include both the positive and negative sides to a story.

Rule 8. Present complex information in digestible chunks to help patients build up their knowledge incrementally.

Start by presenting the basics of the topic. Build the knowledge in subsequent sections, allowing patients to delve into the information at their own pace.
Provide patients the opportunity to dive deeper into a specific topic by including “learn more” buttons or references.

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UPL Style Guide

The Style Guide offers detailed guidance on how patient and caregiver materials created with UPL should look and feel while also considering accessibility.

Style Guide topic examples related to Enable Patient Learning include:

Writing

Writing can be one of the clearest ways in which knowledge is shared, but the words and phrases need to be selected and constructed with care.

In this section you will find guidance on writing to communicate with patients as clearly and simply as possible, in a way that validates their experiences and inspires continued learning and education.

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Thought Starters

The Thought Starters outline key challenges and learnings collected from dozens of interactions with patients, caregivers, healthcare providers, and other experts. They are a good starting point if you want to explain a specific complex topic to patients.

What you will find in the downloads:

Thought Starters

In the Thought Starters, you will find our learnings that may help you explain biological processes, data, clinical trials, health-related finances, and risks and benefits.