D P Newton | PubMed Health

PubMed1998

A PIL for every ill? Patient information leaflets (PILs): a review of past, present and future use.

This article reviews the usefulness and importance of written information, specifically leaflets, being given to patients. Evidence suggesting how both patient and doctor may benefit from the giving of written information is reviewed. Identification of good practice relating to the content and readability of leaflets is discussed. An argument is put forward that the giving of written information is an under-utilized resource in contributing to improving patient outcomes but that this may be changing with the increasing use of patient leaflet databases. The advantages and disadvantages of computer-generated patient leaflets are discussed and desirable further areas of research on computer-generated leaflets are proposed.

Computers↗

PubMed1994

Pictorial support for discourse comprehension.

Discourse comprehension often involves the construction of a mental model of a situation and its updating as the discourse progresses. Theory suggests that a picture which depicts the initial physical situation in a story could help young children construct a functional mental model which they might maintain as the story progresses, thereby supporting comprehension. This was tested with young children, 4 to 6 years of age. The ability of those who saw the picture to model the final story event was enhanced and, even though the picture did not depict the main character's goal directly, recall of the goal was increased. This could be explained in terms of the creation of a functional mental model and the increased opportunity that it provides for linking goal-directed events with the goal as the model is updated. Mental representation theory was found useful here for predicting how to support comprehension in ways which could translate readily into practice in the classroom. Some potential applications of the findings in teaching young children are described.

Child Development↗