advance_health_assessment_clc_brochure_critique-final1

Running head: HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE Health Assessment Brochure Critique Angela Broughton, Claudette Johnson, & Kim Kusch Grand Canyon University NUR: 645 Advanced Health Assessment for Nurse Educators Dr Claudia Werner-Rutledge December 19, 2012 HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE Abstract Health assessment brochures influence public education The importance of critiquing a public information material is to monitor the accuracy, readability and completeness of its content In addition, as educators, patient advocacy in ensuring the public interest is important, thus, measures to correct misleading information should be pursued The findings of this report will reveal a brochure that captivates the attention of readers, written in a manner appropriate for public reading and covers the disease information in detail The brochure, however, fails to update its statistical data and needs more emphasis on disease prevention, key in the disease management of stroke In general, the brochure covers all information the public must know about stroke including resources beneficial for health awareness HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE Health Assessment Brochure Critique Health brochures are used to raise awareness about various medical conditions Brochures outlining the most important information regarding the diagnosis, signs and symptoms, and treatment of serious disorders can be helpful to the general public to educate them in quick, efficient ways The purpose of this paper will be to critique the readability of a brochure regarding stroke and examine the overall appearance and impact on the public Furthermore, the accuracy and completeness of the brochure will be analyzed and a professional persuasive letter will be written to the company which produced the brochure addressing any issues discovered in this thorough evaluation Readability Scale The established readability scale chosen to determine readability of the brochure was the Flesch Reading Ease Scale This scale was created in 1949 by Rudolph Flesch and uses average sentence and word length to determine the readability score (Ancker, 2004) The syllables per word measures word difficulty and the words per sentence measures syntactic complexity A score of 0-40 is very difficult to difficult to read and a score of 80-100 means that it is easy to very easy to read with numbers falling along the spectrum Research suggests that authors should aim for a score of 60-70 on standard documents (Stockmeyer, 2009) In the 1970s, J Peter Kincaid adjusted the formula and created the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Scale This score takes into account the minimum reading grade level required to understand the document (Stockmeyer, 2009) The formula for this number is reading grade level = (0.39 x average sentence length) + (11.8 x average syllables per word) -15.59 This scale can go up to college level or grade 16 (Ancker, 2004) A suggested score is between the grade levels of 7-8 (Stockmeyer, 2009) Both scores will be provided in this analysis This scale was HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE chosen since through a review of the literature it was found to be the oldest and most reliable and was frequently cited in articles related to health care such as writing consent forms It is also a scale that can be easily calculated through the Microsoft Word program Through analysis the stroke brochure had a Flesch Reading Ease Scale of 65.3 and a Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Scale score of 7.7 Since the Flesch Reading Ease Scale should be between 60-70 and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level Scale should be between 7-8 this brochure meets these guidelines for readability Different organizations have different standards of what they feel are acceptable readability guidelines but this fits the standard suggesting it is a good educational tool to distribute to the public From a reading standpoint, it flows easily and provides explanations Readers should not get confused by any medical jargon because medical terms appear to be only used as needed and are thoroughly explained Brochure Appearance From the first sight of this stroke brochure it is visually appealing The front of the brochure is multicolored in red, green, yellow, white, orange, and black which draw attention to it The outlines of traffic signs such as the stop sign are noted It states “know stroke” in the middle with a timer forming the "o" in the word stroke, linking the concept that stroke is a time sensitive condition There is also clear direction on the front to call 911 for stroke symptoms The only concerning feature of the cover of the stroke brochure is that the font may be somewhat small for those that are visually impaired and may only catch the attention of those looking closely leads to missed opportunities for education in the public The inner pages of the brochure provide the bulk of the information Bright colors and headings are used throughout to break up the information and the information flows in paragraph form Bullet points are used to list stroke symptoms and to list health conditions that place HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE people more at risk of stroke Pictures of various people of different genders, ages, and ethnicities are shown on each page linking the concept that stroke can happen to anyone This should suggest to people that they too may be at risk of stroke and that they should read the information and see how it applies to them Traffic signs are also used on several pages of the brochure listing stroke symptoms suggesting to the public that they should be cautious and act quickly when experiencing or seeing these symptoms in someone else Some of the text is in the color red to highlight its importance The back cover of the brochure is all red with the government website and a phone number to consult for more information written in colors contrasting the red in order to stand out more Different colors can symbolism different things as evidenced in the literature The color red for example can be associated with stop, danger, or warning as seems to be the case in this brochure (Keskar, 2010) The author and date of publication are listed on the back of the brochure as well The visual appeal for the most part contributes to the overall quality of this brochure Brochure Analysis In analyzing the brochure regarding stroke, there are several areas which accurately and completely describe the signs, symptoms, and statistics with research-based evidence supporting the facts The brochure begins with a brief introduction and overview of the statistics regarding stroke Unfortunately, due to the date this brochure was produced, some of these statistics are outdated For example, the brochure states that stroke is the third leading cause of death in the United States; however, according to the American Heart Association (2012), stroke is now the fourth leading cause of death In addition, the brochure states that about 600,000 new strokes are reported each year, while new statistics report about 795,000 Americans suffer a new or recurrent HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE stroke each year (American Heart Association, 2012) The final statistic in the introduction is accurate reporting that getting treatment within 60 minutes can prevent disability This fact is supported by the goals of advanced cardiovascular life support (ACLS) measures, which state that initiation of fibrinolytic therapy in appropriate patients (those without contraindications) within one hour of hospital arrival and three hours from symptoms onset are critical time periods (American Heart Association, 2011) These statistics conclude the introduction page of the brochure and provide an appropriate amount of evidence to catch a reader's attention and sustain their interest in the topic The second page of the brochure attempts to define stroke in a simplified manner with a minimal amount of medical jargon The brochure uses the term "brain attack" to refer to a stroke The National Stroke Association (NSA) (2003), along with world-renowned neurologists Vladimir C Hachinski, M.D and John Norris, M.D began to champion the term “brain attack” in 1990 because it characterizes stroke more clearly to the public In addition to an overall definition, the brochure accurately describes the two types of stroke This brochure additionally includes the percentage of the amount of strokes classified as ischemic and hemorrhagic In 2010, the brochure found that about 80 percent of all strokes were termed ischemic, which is consistent with the current data in which ischemic strokes account for 87 percent of all stroke cases (American Heart Association, 2012) However, the data regarding hemorrhagic stroke percentages is not up-to-date, accounting for 20 percent, with new data contrasting this number and claiming hemorrhagic strokes now account for 13 percent of stroke cases (American Heart Association, 2012) This page would have been a resourceful way to include information regarding transient ischemic attacks, but there is no mention of this throughout the brochure HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE The following sections of the brochure include information regarding the signs and symptoms of strokes Several key symptoms are outlined in bold and separated from the rest of the information to draw attention to them These include trouble walking, weakness on one side, trouble seeing, and trouble speaking The signs and symptoms included in the brochure are complete and put into layman's terms in order to easily relate to the audience of the brochure There is no mention of a new acronym which the American Stroke Association currently uses to help easily remember stroke symptoms This acronym, termed F.A.S.T stands for face drooping, arm weakness, speech difficulty, and time to call 911 (American Heart Association, 2012) It would have been effective to include in this brochure to help quickly and easily remember signs and symptoms to monitor for when in the general public The final two pages of the brochure are dedicated to the importance of treatment and time windows in regards to a stroke An entire page is used to inform the public that stroke is an emergency and successful recovery can be achieved if treatment is prompt The last page of the brochure covers one treatment method, t-PA used to dissolve obstructing blood flow to the brain in ischemic strokes The brochure accurately describes the treatment and the important time windows of sixty minutes and three hours In addition, the brochure includes evidence-based research conducted by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), which concluded successful recovery with little or no disability after treatment with t-PA in stroke victims This evidence-based research is well-known and accurate and enhances the information on this page of the brochure Finally, a section regarding the prevention of stroke is outlined This information is extremely valuable and could have been enhanced by creating an additional page of the brochure solely dedicated to prevention However, the information included in this small section is accurate and discusses smoking cessation and effective medical HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE management of hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia In addition to controlling these medical conditions, it may have been effective to include some of the preventable risk factors the American Stroke Association discusses These include heart rhythm disorders such as atrial fibrillation, diet, carotid artery disorders, peripheral vascular disease, obesity, and physical inactivity (American Heart Association, 2012) Although the brochure was complete in the information it offered, the accuracy of some statistics and absence of some important information regarding prevention, transient ischemic attacks, and helpful acronyms which could have enhanced the brochure was lacking The brochure did conclude with an online resource which could be helpful to readers in order to access the information which was missing from the brochure In addition, a phone number was available to call which leads to the Brain Resources and Information Network developed by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke The number is still available, however hours are limited from eight to five, five days a week and the number refers callers to access the website offered on the back of the brochure All in all there is an appropriate amount of information which proved to be accurate at the time the brochure was produced In addition to the information there are resources which can be accessed that enhances the accuracy and completeness of the brochure Conclusion Health information influences public education and health choices What is published in brochures reaches many people Therefore, ensuring that the public receives concise, understandable and relevant data is vital to public health and safety The critique of the Know Stroke brochure reveals some positives and negatives It is a visually appealing brochure which creatively utilized color and signs to positively impact its readers However, its shortcomings lie HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE on the statistical data which is inconsistent with the current published information In addition, important information regarding stroke related disease such as a transient ischemic attack and stroke’s current acronym was missing, which can mislead readers In general, the analysis reveals a well-written, easily readable and comprehensive brochure recommendable for public awareness and health promotion HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE 10 References American Heart Association (2011) Advanced cardiovascular life support provider manual United States of America: American Heart Association American Heart Association (AHA) (2012) About stroke Retrieved from: http://strokeassociation.org/STROKEORG/AboutStroke/AboutStroke_UCM_308529_SubHomePage.jsp Ancker, J (2004) Developing the informed consent form: A review of the readability literature and an experiment AMWA Journal, 19(3), 97-100 Keskar, G (2010) Color psychology and its effect on human behavior Paintindia, 61-64 National Stroke Association (NSA) (2003) National Stroke Association's complete guide to stroke, first edition Retrieved from: http://www.stroke.org/site/DocServer/NSA_complete_guide.pdf Stockmeyer, N (2009) Plain language Michigan Bar Journal, 46-47 HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE 11 APPENDIX A Grand Canyon University PO Box 11097 Phoenix, AZ 8506 December 19, 2012 Office of Communications and Public Liaison National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke National Institutes of Health Bethesda, MD 20892 Dear Public Liaison: As student nursing educators, we review patient education brochures for our patients and our community We are pleased to come across your education brochure for our stroke patient population and commend you for your devotion to a very vulnerable group, where education is essential to its prevention Your Know Stroke brochure is an education tool we are considering to use for public education and our Stroke Awareness Campaign In reviewing the brochure with our team, we find its readability appropriate for our public consumers The information presented is comprehensive and flows easily with clear explanation fitting for our identified population Your brochure is visually appealing utilizing colors and symbols that add value and meaning to the reader Its visual appeal grabs attention for easy marketability Your team’s use of traffic signs suggesting caution and quick action for the outlined symptoms is creative In addition, the use of the clock in the letter “O” of the word stoke, effectively suggests the importance of seeking help immediately It emphasizes time is essential to recovery and treatment, leaving a lasting impression in the public’s mind The use of bold fonts highlighting key symptoms stands out The use of language with simplified medical jargon in describing signs, symptoms, statistics and research based evidence supporting stroke facts is easily relatable for the public Coverage of stroke information including detailing importance time-sensitive windows for successful recovery is crucial information In addition, the use of well-known evidence based research conducted by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) on successful recovery with t-PA in stroke victims enhances the credibility of the brochure Although the brochure information is comprehensive, we respectfully want to bring to your attention some inaccuracies in your published statistics The statistical data not reflect the current statistics published by the American Heart Association (AHA) The AHA mentions stroke as the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, not third as mentioned in your brochure The mention of 600,000 new strokes reported each year contradicts the AHA figure of 795,000 The brochure mentions hemorrhagic stroke data accounting for 20 percent of the cases which is not consistent with the AHA reported data of 13 percent The omission of Transient ischemic attacks information and the new acronym, F.A.S.T., currently used by the American Stroke Association could be useful information to add to your brochure Furthermore, the inclusion of HEALTH BROCHURE CRITIQUE 12 the stroke prevention section is extremely valuable, but could be enhanced by creating a page dedicated to preventable risk factors to enhance health promotion Our team commends your team for the time, energy, and creativity in making the Know Stroke brochure stand out in content and appeal for the public We respectfully make the recommendations to update the statistical information, include transient ischemic attack information, and devote a larger area for prevention, which is vital in patients at risk for stroke With these changes, we can certainly endorse the Know Stroke brochure for public education at our institution We look forward to hearing from you regarding our proposed changes Should you have any questions, not hesitate to contact us We appreciate your time and consideration Sincerely, Angela Broughton, Claudette Johnson, Kimberly Kusch Grand Canyon University Masters in Nursing Education Program