Supporting people to become active participants in their heath and care
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Healthwatch Leeds worked in partnership with Leeds City Council (Public Health) and partners to find better ways to support individuals and their carers to understand the health information they receive about their care and treatment. |
Supporting people to be more involved in their health and care
We gathered feedback about people's experience of receiving health information through a short survey with a focus on those groups who experience disproportionately low or inadequate health literacy. Click on the image on the left ot read the full report.
Highlights
A number of people told us they were not asked about their communication needs or that their preferred communication needs were not met.
Some people felt they could not ask questions at their appointment.
There was support for the tools, the most popular being 'It's OK to ask'.
Action Plan
Highlights
Use clear ever day language and avoid jargon or acronyms.
Ask individuals about any communication needs and preferences and take action to meet these needs.
Information about rights of access to and who is responsible for booking interpreters.
It's OK to Ask resources
Following this work, some resources were made to help people share the role of making decisions about their care and better understanding their health.
Click on the images to open a downloadable PDF of the resources.
Physical copies of the resources can be ordered from the Public Health Resource Centre - Please email phrc@leeds.gov.uk
This information is also available in an easy-read format which can also be requested from the Public Health Resource Centre.
It's OK to Ask poster.
The poster is to empower people to ask questions to better understand health information and encourage them to prepare in advance for seeing or talking to someone about their health and wellbeing.
It's OK to Ask postcard.
Like the poster, it is to empower people to ask questions to better understand health information and encourage them to prepare. On the reverse side, it also gives people the opportunity to write this down before, during and after appointments.
What Matters to Me postcard
This postcard is to encourage people to think about what matters to them in advance and discuss this with those who are supporting them.