Tools and Resources

This page includes only some of the many resources that we have curated for our members. To access all resources, we welcome you to become an HCEA Member.

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• Patient Education Practice Guidelines for Health Care Professionals
• Illustrations and Images for Patient Education
• Videos for Patient Education
• Health Related Apps
• Literacy Assessment Tools for Written Materials
• Culture and Languages
• Health Literacy
• Patient and Family-Centered Care and Engagement
• Patient Education Practice and Research
• Quality Improvement
• Professional Development: Patient Education and Health Literacy
• Developing Materials
• National Voluntary Health Organizations
  
  

 Illustrations and Images for Patient Education

• A.D.A.M. Images - nearly 30,000 medical images ready for download. Cost involved.
   

Videos for Patient Education

• Anatomy & Physiology with Hank Green - free animated video series about anatomy and physiology for teens and older. 2015.
  
  
• Nemours KidsHealth How the Body Works - free animated video series about how the body works for kids. 2016.

• TED-Ed Videos About the Human Body - free videos about the human body and various health conditions for teens and older. 2020 and earlier.
  
  

Health Related Apps

• Journey Boards (pediatric patient education) - free apps from Phoenix Children's Hospital that encourage families of a sick child to engage in conversations, including teach-back with the health care team. Topics include hospital stay, surgery, cancer, asthma (English and Spanish), tube feeding, peritoneal dialysis, bones, and transplant.
   
• Kincare - free cloud-based app designed to provide help in caring for yourself and your loved ones. Kincare provides various functions necessary for orchestrating home health care, including but not limited to scheduling, medicine, communication, vitals tracking, and care/health coordination.
   
• MediSafe - free pill reminder app that includes a picture of the pill the person is scheduled to take. Can also send alerts to a family member for missed doses.
  
  

Literacy Assessment Tools for Written Materials

• PEMAT - Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool - an instrument to assess the understandability and actionability of print and audiovisual patient education materials. 2020.
• User's Guide
  
• PEMAT Tool for Print Materials
• PEMAT Tool for Audiovisual Materials
• PEMAT Online Scoring Tool 

• CDC Clear Communication Index - has 4 introductory questions and 20 scored items drawn from scientific literature in communication and related disciplines. Use this online fillable tool to score your written pieces for clear, understandable language. 2023.

• Doak, Doak and Root - Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) - offers a systematic method to objectively assess the suitability of health information materials. 2008. 
  
  

Culture and Languages

• HealthReach - free quality multilingual, multicultural health information for those working with or providing care to individuals with limited English proficiency (LEP). Find culturally relevant print materials in multiple languages and formats about health conditions and wellness topics. HealthReach is easy to use on tablets and mobile devices. 2019.  

• Fang, Mei Lan et al. A Knowledge Synthesis of Culturally- and Spiritually-Sensitive End-of-Life Care: Findings from a Scoping Review. BMC Geriatrics 16 (2016): 107. PMC. Web. 8 Aug. 2017.
  
  

Health Literacy

• AHRQ Health Literacy Universal Precautions Toolkit, 2nd Edition. 2020.
  
  
• Federal Plain Language Guidelines. 2018.
   
• The Journey to Become a Health Literate Organization: A Snapshot of Health System Improvement. 2017.
  
  

Patient and Family-Centered Care and Engagement

• American Academy of Pediatrics Patient and Family-Centered Care and the Pediatrician's Role - educators may use this resource to obtain strategies needed to get buy in from upper-level staff.
   

Patient Education Practice and Research

• Enhancing Health Literacy - an article featuring how to incorporate the Patient Education Practice Guidelines for Health Care Professionals developed by the Health Care Education Association (HCEA) into the peri-operative setting. Cutilli, C. & Christensen, S.A. AORN Journal, 119(4), 292-296. 2024.
  
  
• Promoting Health Literacy - an article outlining how to utilize the Patient Education Practice Guidelines for Health Care Professionals developed by the Health Care Education Association, using practical examples for application. Cutilli, C. & Christensen, S.A. American Nurse Journal. 19(8), 17-22. 2024.
  
  
• Patient Education and Counseling Journal for Communication in Healthcare - includes studies surrounding clinical communication, patient education, counseling, health promotion, and provider training. Official journal of EACH, the International Association for Communication in Health Care and ACH, the Academy of Communication in Healthcare. Includes open access articles.
  
  
• Patient Experience Journal (PXJ) - includes articles focused on research and innovation in patient and human experience. Published by The Beryl Institute. Includes open access articles.
  
  
• Self-Management Resource Center - the evidence-based self-management programs previously offered by Stanford Patient Education Research Center. Millions of adults live with one or more chronic health conditions. Our programs help people and their caregivers manage their symptoms, improve their quality of life, and reduce healthcare costs.
   

Quality Improvement

• Free From Harm: Acceleration Patient Safety Improvement Fifteen Years After to Err is Human. National Patient Safety Foundation. 2015.
  
  
• Health Equity Must Be a Strategic Priority. NEJM Catalyst. 2017. Report on research conducted by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) since 2015 with health systems that have taken a comprehensive approach to health equity.
   
• Multicultural Health Care Improvement Guide (PDF download). The guide, developed by NCQA in collaboration with Lilly USA, LLC, serves as a resource for those wanting to undertake quality improvement initiatives to improve culturally and linguistically appropriate services and to reduce disparities in care.
  
  

Professional Development:
Patient Education and Health Literacy

• AHRQ Improving the Informed Consent Process in the Hospital Setting - free online course providing advice on how to improve the principles of informed consent using clear, easy to understand language. 2016.
  
  
• Essentials of Patient Education. Susan B. Bastable. 2016.
  
  
• The Joint Commission. Advancing Effective Communication, Cultural Competence, and Patient- and Family-Centered Care for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Community - provides strategies, examples and resources to create a more welcoming, safe and inclusive environment that contributes to improved health care quality for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) patients and their families. 2011.
  
  

Developing Materials

• Simply Put: A Guide for Creating Easy-to-Understand Materials. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2009.
  
  

• Tips on Using Design to Improve Readability. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). 2019.

• Writing Health Information for Patients and Families, 4th Edition. A comprehensive health literacy guide for developing consumer educational materials from Hamilton Health Sciences in Ontario, Canada. (PDF). 2014. 
  
  

National Voluntary Health Organizations

• Chest Foundation - free patient education PDFs on pulmonary/respiratory diseases. Also have videos available for cost. Some items available in Spanish.

• OrthoInfo - patient education PDFs from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Includes medical illustrations. Available in English and Spanish. Contact OrthoInfo for licensing. Cost involved.

NOTE: Always check applicable copyright/permission information before using of any these resources. Some of these sites offer free images, videos and apps, and some are fee-based; some are "print only" (not able to be copied or saved); some require written permission before using/adapting; some are protected under copyright laws, and some are available in the public domain. HCEA does not endorse or recommend any of the companies, persons, websites, resources, or other products included in the Tools and Resources section. Please see our guidelines for details on how HCEA selects resources to list here.