Using Photo Stories to Support Doctor-Patient Communication: Evaluating a Communicative Health Literacy Intervention for Older Adults

Ruth Koops van ‘t Jagt, Shu Ling Tan, John Hoeks, Sophie Spoorenberg, Sijmen A. Reijneveld, Andrea F. de Winter, Sonia Lippke and Carel Jansen
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Ruth Koops van ‘t Jagt: Aletta Jacobs School of Public Health; 9747 AD Groningen, The Netherlands
Shu Ling Tan: Institute for Sport and Exercise Science, Department for Social Sciences of Sport, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, Horstmarer Landweg 62a, 48149 Münster, Germany
John Hoeks: Department of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Groningen, Oude Kijk in ’t Jatstraat 26, 9712 EK Groningen, The Netherlands
Sophie Spoorenberg: Department of Health Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, P.O. Box 196, 9700 AD Groningen, The Netherlands
Sijmen A. Reijneveld: Department of Health Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, P.O. Box 196, 9700 AD Groningen, The Netherlands
Andrea F. de Winter: Department of Health Sciences, University Medical Center Groningen, P.O. Box 196, 9700 AD Groningen, The Netherlands
Sonia Lippke: Department of Psychology & Methods, Jacobs University Bremen, Res IV, Campus Ring 1, D-28759 Bremen, Germany
Carel Jansen: Department of Communication and Information Sciences, University of Groningen, Oude Kijk in ’t Jatstraat 26, 9712 EK Groningen, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2019, vol. 16, issue 19, 1-18

Abstract: Older adults often have limited health literacy and experience difficulties in communicating about their health. In view of the need for efficacious interventions, we compared a narrative photo story booklet regarding doctor-patient communication with a non-narrative but otherwise highly similar brochure. The photo story booklet included seven short picture-based stories about themes related to doctor-patient communication. The non-narrative brochure had comparable pictures and layout and dealt with the same themes, but it did not include any stories. We conducted two Randomized Controlled Trials (RCTs) among older adults with varying levels of health literacy: one RCT in Germany ( N = 66) and one RCT in the Netherlands ( N = 54); the latter one was followed by an in-depth interview study among a subset of the participants (81.5%; n = 44). In the RCTs, we did not find significant differences between the photo story booklet and the non-narrative brochure. In the interview study, a majority of the participants expressed a preference for the photo story booklet, which was perceived as recognizable, relevant, entertaining and engaging. We conclude that photo story booklets are a promising format but that there is room for improving their effectiveness.

Keywords: doctor-patient communication; health literacy; narratives; photo stories; older adults; self-efficacy; behavioral intention; format preference; effectiveness (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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