A novel scale for the evaluation of physician drawn medical illustrations.

Publisher: Informa Healthcare Country of Publication: England NLM ID: 101254059 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1745-3062 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 17453054 NLM ISO Abbreviation: J Vis Commun Med Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: London : Informa Healthcare
Original Publication: Abingdon, Oxfordshire, UK : Taylor & Francis, c2005-

Medical Illustration* ; Education, Medical*; Humans ; Pilot Projects ; Reproducibility of Results ; Audiovisual Aids

Effective communication is a crucial component of patient-centered care and individuals with low health literacy face significant challenges in managing their health, leading to longer hospital stays and worse outcomes. Visual aids, such as medical illustrations and pictograms, can enhance patient understanding and memory retention; however, there is a lack in the medical field of tools for evaluating and improving a physician's ability to draw clinical illustrations for their patient. This article explores an aesthetic scale created in collaboration between Boston University Medical School and the Boston University Fine-Arts department. The scale scores basic design elements that could reasonably be improved in a clinical setting. A pilot study demonstrated interrater reliability between trained artists scoring images of varying concepts and visual quality with a Cronbach's alpha of 0.95. This scale has potential use in medical visual education and clinical evaluation.

Keywords: Patient education; health literacy; medical illustration; patient comprehension; patient-centered interventions; visual aids

Date Created: 20230711 Date Completed: 20231216 Latest Revision: 20231216

20231217

10.1080/17453054.2023.2228849

37431723