Guide to help NHS tackle health literacy; Patient pathway quality standards; Cancer screening knowledge hub
Guide to improve health literacy in the NHS
NHS Providers has worked in partnership with NHS England to produce a guide which explores health literacy, how to improve it and the benefits of applying health literacy interventions. The guide has been shared during Health Literacy Month and highlights how increasing health literacy has benefits for both patients and for those running NHS services. These include more efficient use of resources and improved patient access, experience and outcomes. The suggested actions in the guide for NHS trusts to tackle health literacy challenges are to:
- Provide clear leadership for becoming a health literate organisation.
- Understand communities and current levels of health literacy.
- Review and update resources to ensure services are fully accessible.
- Train and empower staff on the implementation of health literacy interventions.
- Co-produce resources with communities.
- Evaluate the impact of health literacy interventions over time.
One of the case studies in the guide is Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust where initiatives include co-design groups. These bring together patients and service users to review health materials, discuss challenges, and provide input into how healthcare information is communicated. The trust has also undertaken a comprehensive review of leaflets, website content, and other resources, making sure health information is up-to-date, accessible, and easy to understand.
Read more about the guide on the NHS Providers website here.
Patient follow-up system must meet quality standards
Providing all patients and/or carers with appropriate and detailed information is one of three minimum quality standards that must be met when using a patient follow-up pathway. NHS England has updated its guidance on patient-initiated follow-up (PIFU). This means instead of being automatically scheduled for routine check-ups, patients decide when they need an appointment at a time that is right for them. To help overcome some of the challenges and expand the use of PIFU, NHS England has set out best practice. It includes the following three minimum quality standards that must be met:
- All patients and/or carers should be provided with appropriate and detailed information on PIFU, including condition-specific information. They should be advised how, why or when to request appointments and should easily be able to ask questions.
- A standard operating procedure that includes patient safety nets should be in place.
- All patients moved to a PIFU pathway should be logged and tracked on the organisation’s IT system, and the service able to report on key metrics including the number of patients who are on a PIFU pathway.
Read the updated guidance on the NHS England website here.
New lung cancer screening knowledge hub
A project aiming to boost lung cancer screening has launched a new knowledge hub to bring together clear, trusted information and practical tools for patients and healthcare professionals. The EU-funded SOLACE project (Strengthening the screening of Lung Cancer in Europe) was created to break down the barriers to screening to ensure people across all social and economic groups can access it. The new knowledge hub includes information on lung cancer and its risks and symptoms as well as details on the benefits of screening. There are also sections on the process of screening, who is eligible and an interactive map of lung screenings locations across Europe. SOLACE has also reopened its survey to evaluate how perceptions of and practices in screening across Europe have evolved since the project's first survey in 2023.
The survey can be found on the Survey Monkey website here.
Find the knowledge hub on the SOLACE website here.
STUDY: Analysis of text and audio formats for health information
Researchers investigated how using text or audio formats can affect people's understanding and retention of medical information. With growing use of digital assistants and smart devices in health care, the study asked 487 participants to either read or listen to the same health text during the study. Participants then completed questionnaires evaluating perceived difficulty and actual difficulty.
The study found that text was more effective for conveying complex health information but audio can be suitable for easier content. Audio can complement text, particularly for familiar or conversational content but should be carefully designed, especially for individuals with limited health literacy, the study found. The authors highlighted the importance of tailoring health information delivery to content complexity by using appropriate styles and techniques. The research also concluded that existing readability formulas did not explain actual difficulty and failed to address challenges specific to audio formats.
Read the full study on via the JMIR website here.
New resources to support maternity care
The General Medical Council (GMC) and the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) have created new resources to support inclusive high-quality maternity care. The GMC’s new ethical hub on maternity care gives advice on the professional standards in an easy-access resource which focuses on five key themes: teamwork, communication, treatment options, escalation, and inequalities. Issues addressed include supporting patient mental health, tackling discrimination and poor workplace behaviours and remaining compassionate under pressure. The resources aim to place a spotlight on the need to tackle inequalities in perinatal care and address disparities – particularly for patients from ethnic minority backgrounds. The GMC and NMC gathered feedback from healthcare organisations, including NHS England’s Perinatal Culture and Leadership Programme, maternity professionals, pregnancy and baby loss charities Sands and Tommy’s and people with lived experience. The NMC also produced accompanying case studies.
Find the maternity care resource in the GMC ethical hub here.
Resources to help health leaders mark Black History Month
NHS Confederation has shared resources and information on what actions health leaders can take to improve race equality with their organisation. The resources to support health leaders in marking Black History Month include a section on taking action to build anti-racist organisations with links to existing frameworks and models. There is a comprehensive collection of resources including reports, briefings and blogs as well as a list of events, webinars and podcasts. A free webinar on 23 October will ask what steps must the NHS take to protect staff and services from racial abuse and attacks.
Find the full resource on the NHS Confederation website here.
Celebration of digital and data inclusion
The Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (The ALLIANCE) will be delivering a number of sessions during DigiKnowVember – a month-long celebration of digital and data inclusion. The ALLIANCE will be helping to ensure that health, wellbeing, and social care perspectives are embedded throughout the programme, which includes 120 events designed to empower individuals, communities, and organisations to thrive in a digital world. The ALLIANCE will deliver a number of events including several digital champions drop-ins with a health and wellbeing focus.
Find out more about the events on the ALLIANCE website here.
LISTEN: The importance of patient voice
Digital Health shared its latest Unplugged podcast on World Mental Health Day discussing the importance of including the patient voice in the development of digital mental health technologies. Podcast host Jordan Sollof is joined by Holly Coole, senior manager for digital mental health at the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), and Grace Gatera, a lived experience advocate with direct experience of trauma from surviving the 1994 Rwandan genocide. The two women are working together to ensure that digital mental health technologies - including the use of AI - are effective, safe and take the needs of those who use them into account.