Whether you’re doing a routine check-up or providing very particular nutritional advice for your diabetes type 2 patient, consider these four points when advising:
- Content – Try to be as clear and concise in your instructions. You need to factor in the possibility of your patient having limited literacy or the inability to speak English. Be precise about what you say so that your patient doesn't feel uncertain about their instructions.
- Delivery – Similarly, you need to remain mindful of your patient’s literacy levels. It’s inappropriate to provide written instructions at a high reading level. The same applies to verbal instructions. Also, ask questions if you feel your delivery is not clear enough.
- Comprehension – Be cognisant of what you say and how your patient may comprehend it. Keeping your instructions simple to avoid confusion is paramount.
- Implementation – To ensure that your patient understands their home-care regime, you can make use of other approaches, like using visual aids to explain a tricky concept or demonstrating how medicines should be consumed and at what dosage level.
For more useful information visit the Unilever Health website.
