Helpful Resources for Developing Patient Education Materials

CPMC has analyzed barriers and created rubrics to guide organizations in developing patient education on genetic testing for inherited cancer risks and on biomarker testing in cancer. These materials are available for download here.

Use plain language.

Precision medicine and biomarker testing are complex topics that are difficult to convey in plain language.

When developing materials, it is important to focus on plain language, keep to an 8th grade level or below and, when possible, to develop multi-language, culturally sensitive resources that reflect the varied accessibility needs of your constituencies.

Shorter is better.

Shorter is better for most readers, particularly those with limited health literacy.

Consider using a health literacy calculator to gauge the literacy level of your materials. Materials that are brief and kept to one to two pages are best.

Communicate visually.

Patient education needs to include graphics and illustrations to communicate key points.

Make sure to include appropriate visual elements such as pictures and icons in addition to text. When sharing digitally, make sure alt text is included.

Get the Rubrics

These rubrics will help you make your own patient education materials on biomarker and genetic testing. They include tips, dos and don’ts, and recommended language. Here’s one example of what you can create.

To download the rubrics, we ask that you provide a little information about yourself. We do this to better understand who is using our tools and possibly to follow up about your experience, helping us continue to improve.