Pre-requisites
- Basic understanding of patient communication strategies
- Knowledge of different sources of health information (e.g., scientific journals, patient leaflets, online resources)
- Familiarity with the principles of evidence-based medicine
Explanation of activity
Students will be introduced to the DISCERN instrument, a standardized tool used to assess the quality of written health information about treatment choices. They will work in small groups to evaluate various patient education materials using the DISCERN criteria and discuss their implications for clinical practice.
Teacher materials
- Introduction to the DISCERN instrument (PowerPoint slides)
- Printed DISCERN questionnaires
- Selection of patient education materials (pamphlets, online health articles, printed guidelines)
- Case scenario sheets featuring different patient conditions
- Suggested discussion prompts
Relevant reading to understand the materials:
- Charnock D, Shepperd S, Needham G, Gann R. “DISCERN: An Instrument for Judging the Quality of Written Consumer Health Information on Treatment Choices.” J Epidemiol Community Health. 1999;53(2):105-111.
- DISCERN official website: https://www.ndph.ox.ac.uk/research/research-groups/applied-health-research-unit-ahru/discern
Student Materials
- Case studies describing patient scenarios requiring treatment decisions
- DISCERN checklist and scoring guide
- Selection of real or simulated patient information materials
- Reflection worksheet
Assessing and Evaluation
- Understand the importance of high-quality patient information in shared decision-making.
- Learn how to apply the DISCERN instrument to evaluate written health materials.
- Identify biases and gaps in patient information.
- Reflect on how to guide patients in identifying credible health information.
- Group discussion on how different sources of patient information scored using DISCERN
- Presentation of key takeaways and challenges in evaluating health information
- Peer feedback on evaluation approaches
- Written reflection on how this activity will influence future clinical interactions
Modulations
- Use of digital patient information instead of printed leaflets
- Expansion to include analysis of social media health information
- Role-play where students guide a simulated patient in evaluating health information
Slides
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Activities
June 11, 2025
