Using infographics to increase staff confidence and reduce the need for clinic consultation

Medical teams treating COVID-19 patients were receiving a lot of information for this new area of medicine, along with regular updates to reflect changing practice. A team at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow sought to minimise this overload by creating, where appropriate, bite-size illustrated information guides for staff. By reviewing the available literature and working with specialists, they created a COVID-19 Evaluation Guide infographic to educate staff on how to manage patients with suspected or confirmed COVID-19. This was regularly updated as new evidence and guidance was published. Further infographics were designed specifically for nursing staff, such as a poster on how to clean their reusable eye protection equipment.

The team have since taken this learning and applied it to patient information leaflets for those with orthostatic hypotension, which also includes a QR code which links to a patient information video. This has proven to increase patient learning while reducing the need for a clinic consultation.

Feedback from both patients and staff has been extremely positive. Staff have reported that this new visual style of receiving information gave them confidence in the care they were providing, whilst patients liked the provision of bite-sized information alongside diagrams. For junior doctors, easily accessible guidance gave a feeling of security in how they were helping manage patients with suspected COVID-19. A staff survey has shown that the majority of staff preferred accessing the infographics in poster format.

By responding to a need for clear and concise information for staff who were working in a stressful environment, the team gained new learning which is helping inform and improve the delivery of care across additional services.

The team also contributed to the Scottish Government Primary Care Guide for COVID-19.

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