As we mark the end of one year and the beginning of another, I’d like to wish all our PIF members and friends a very Happy New Year.
I think it’s safe to say that last year was another different year for us all but for those working in healthcare information and support, many of the same challenges emerged.
The need for clear, accessible and trustworthy communications still remains a problem, be that in relation to COVID and the vaccine or supporting mothers around maternity decisions.
But the good news is, together with you, our PIF members, we are making steady progress towards establishing a quality standard, ensuring healthcare information is accurate, evidence based, and inclusive.
Key activity in 2021
I’m pleased to report that since we launched the PIF TICK in April 2020, we are approaching 100 members and the PIF TICK is increasingly recognised as the mark of trustworthy health information.
Last year we launched the PIF TICK website to promote trusted information to the public and published the Maternity Decisions: Being Induced report which demonstrated how much needs to be done to put shared decision making into practice.
The findings of our report were echoed in the Government's Vision for the Women's Health Strategy published shortly before Christmas.
In 2021 we also continued our work with Connected Nottinghamshire to ensure the content of digital tools is health literate.
We will be launching a new collaborative project on shared decision making soon.
Going from strength to strength
In 2022, PIF is entering its 25th year and we are going from strength to strength.
Our membership overall is growing, with a 30% increase on the previous year.
We have also continued to expand our partnership network, with The Association of Translation Companies and the Self Care Forum being the latest to join.
The launch of PIF’s first strategy in 2016 provided focus and a clear roadmap for our work on defining quality health information standards, developing the expertise of members, securing CPD accreditation for our training and working to ensure high quality health information is available to everyone.
We are currently in the process of reviewing the strategy to ensure we adapt to the changing needs in health information.
Our work already has a renewed focus on digital health literacy, alternative language support and accessibility and this emphasis will continue.
We aim to share the refreshed strategy very shortly.
We couldn’t do any of this without your support, so we’d like to say a huge thank you for being on this journey with us. We really appreciate it.
My best wishes for a happy and healthy 2022
Sue Farrington
Chair, PIF