In order to be able to respond more adequately to the needs of patients or to provide support in cases of low health literacy, the communication competence of health professionals in care organisations should be promoted. In addition to communication training, supporting measures should be used with the aim of strengthening organisational health literacy beyond staff training.

In the PIKoG project, the following supporting measures were therefore developed and implemented in a participatory manner with staff from the participating clinics:

Posters and handouts

Posters on various discussion techniques were developed and implemented on the wards of the participating clinics. The handouts summarise the most important aspects of different interview techniques and were distributed to the staff of the participating clinics. The format of the handouts corresponds to a business card and can therefore be kept handy in the coat pocket.

Door signs

Three different door signs were developed and made available to the staff of the participating clinics in order to mark the places of conversation and to minimise disturbances during a conversation with patients.

The door signs are selected according to the occasion of the conversation and can be attached to the door clinic in a clearly visible position before a conversation.

Flyer

Finding good health information is often a particular challenge for patients. To make it easier for patients to find good health information, they can use the flyer "Gesundheitsinformationen-verstehen,abwägen,entscheiden" (Understanding, weighing, deciding ) from the IQWIG (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care). The flyer can be found in the waiting areas of the participating clinics as well as at gesundheitsinformation.de.

We have also developed and implemented the flyer "Liegt Ihnen was auf der Zunge" (Something on the tip of your tongue ) with the support of IQWIG (Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care). Since it can be hectic during a doctor's consultation and conversations are often short, the flyer contains possible questions that can be important during a doctor's visit. After all, having the most important questions written down beforehand helps to get answers. A list of eight questions about the disease and treatment has been compiled. The patients of the participating clinics receive this flyer with a notepad on site. The original flyer can be found at gesundheitsinformation.de.