Good care starts with questions that patients understand
In healthcare, we often think carefully aboutwhatwe ask. Buthowwe ask is just as important.Does the patient actually understand the questions?A published studyby our Medical Head,Domino Determann, emphasizes that more attention needs to be paid to ensuring that questions in patient-reported questionnaires are easy to understand.
Why is this important?
The healthcare system is asking more and more of patients: filling out questionnaires, describing symptoms, sharing experiences. But what if this is too complex? Then not only do the results become unreliable, but we also (unintentionally) exclude the very people who have difficulty reading and writing—as well as those with limited health literacy.
Our Approach at ConsultAssistent
At ConsultAssistent, we focus onmaking our question modules easy to understand.We’ve been doing this for years, which has allowed us to build up a wealth of experience in formulatingclear and understandablequestions for patients. We ensure that our modules are written at the B1 language level. And we use tools such as thePharos | Center of Expertise on Health Disparitiesquick test to make our modules as easy to understand as possible.
In addition, we routinely request patient evaluations for new and existing modules. We use multiple evaluation questionnaires, including questions that specifically address the comprehensibility of the module. Based on this feedback, we continuously improve our modules to ensure they are well-suited to patients' experiences and language levels.
What does B1-level language mean in practice?
➡️ Short, direct sentences
➡️ No technical jargon or unnecessary complexity
➡️ Clear, specific questions
Curious to see what this looks like in our question modules? Request ademoon our website.