Graphic Barriers: Enhanced Comprehension of Patient Education Material   

In this paper, I will demonstrate that when choosing graphics for patient education material, document designers should consider empirical research on memory of pictures and mental processing of graphs. It has been shown that comprehension of patient education materials is often impeded by text written at reading levels too high for the patient population. Graphics have been used to aid in overcoming the deficits of complex text. However, graphics too can be too advanced for the client to understand if designers do not consider audience and cognitive processing of images.

Terrell Willis, Sharese. STC Proceedings (2004). Articles>Scientific Communication>Technical Illustration>Biomedical