Return-Path: <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.9.3/8.9.0.Beta5/980425bjb) with SMTP id VAA11052; Mon, 1 May 2000 21:53:30 -0400 (EDT) Date: Mon, 1 May 2000 21:53:30 -0400 (EDT) Message-Id: <77.3801dd9.263f8dcb@aol.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: CPGarzona@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:2364] RE: Q & A format X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: AOL 4.0 for Mac - Post-GM sub 147 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Status: OR Hi, I think the Q and A format serves several purposes: 1. Because health professionals are notoriously bad writers/communicators, it forces them to organize their thoughts, keep to the subject, etc. It also can help (but does not guarantee) more plain language. 2. It allows people to skim quickly over questions/answers they already know. 3. It allows visual/graphic relief -- when it's done right. 4. It encourages patients/their families to think of and ask their OWN questions. And helps them see that "there are no dumb questions." The caveat is that the questions must be real questions. Taken from real conversations. Patients/families know when questions have been "made up" (e.g., "What are the five signs of heart disease?"). The best way to get real questions is to interview patients/their families and use THEIR words in the questions. How they frame things is often very different from how professionals frame things. Health professionals often assume that the questions/answers they think are important will be important to patients/their families. Not. It's necessary to get out from behind one's desk and get out into the "field" to get real questions. Real questions are often about emotions. Most made up questions are about facts/statistics. Patients can smell fake from a mile away. cpgarzona cpgarzona@aol.com
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