Making a proverb come true for our client.
This well-known proverb is appropriate to this case.
The Inter-Tribal Council of Michigan, a client we’re proud to support, advocates to improve the quality of life for Native Americans. ITCM recognized the need to help healthcare providers improve their communication outreach to their culturally diverse and often under-resourced communities. After all, health literacy is crucial to understanding information in order to make appropriate health decisions.
Beth Sieloff, ITCM Program Manager, Cancer Prevention and Control Programs says, “We’re failing to educate patients with outdated tools and ineffective strategy. Research shows that for every $1 spent on education, $25 is saved on patient costs. That translates into $25 million saved for every $1 million spent. If we embrace technology and simple messaging to share health education, we can avoid gaps in health prevention.”
To address this issue, ITCM produced a webinar focused on elevating health literacy for health care workers who create communication tools in tribal communities. Sarah Keller, ITCM Health Education and Communications Specialist talked about knowing your audience – their health barriers, cultural nuances, education level – and how best to serve their specific needs. She says, “The main takeaway of a communication tool is your call to action, so be clear about what you want your customer to do.”
I was invited to share basic design principals and to analyze before and after design samples to demonstrate how to improve and clarify the message. We shared techniques to create simple designs that clearly communicate critical information. Sarah demonstrated a free online graphic design platform to demystify how to use layout tools.
We were delighted to receive this positive feedback from our webinar attendees:
“The webinar opened my eyes to how messages can be lost when not presented effectively.”
“I didn’t think about being conscientious about fonts, wordiness, and drowning out the important info that I am trying to communicate.”
One of the most exciting data from ITCM’s attendee surveys showed a BIG increase in their knowledge of how to create communication materials after the webinar!
I’m proud of our client for recognizing the need to help individuals process and use healthcare information to better inform their healthcare decisions. And I am grateful to be a part of their education efforts.
“The webinar was one of the most valuable sessions I have attended in quite some time. Thank you so so much!”
– T.H., Health Promotion and Consumer Engagement Manager