by Jo Ann LeQuang

Children are more receptive to medical information than many people might imagine. With increasing numbers of procedures and prescriptions available for the younger set, there should be a major push toward disseminating information to them as well.

Many educators have probably despaired over explaining medical issues to the pediatric population. After all, if you have to simplify medical information for adult patients, how on earth can you explain complicated medical procedures to a child? There are ways to explain a drug, device, or procedure to a child that are engaging without being overwhelming.

“There are ways to explain a drug, device, or procedure to a child that are engaging without being overwhelming.”

Coloring books for kids

For small children, consider developing a coloring book. Using cartoon drawings and animal characters can make the content more accessible to young minds. The coloring book should tell a story in words and pictures. It's not a bad thing for the coloring book to address issues like fear, nervousness, or pain, providing the overall narrative is accurate, positive, and reassuring.

Provide crayons and a coloring book becomes an interactive medium. The child participates in telling the story through the drawings. The images and perhaps the words become memorable from having colored through the pages.

Tap into an older child’s imagination

Older children may prefer a short booklet or pamphlet along the lines of “how does an MRI machine work?” or “what does insulin actually do?” Most medical advances and information can be framed in terms of amazing discoveries, historical anecdotes, and incredible future potential. For bright, inquisitive children, such a book can go a long way to helping raise a compliant patient.

Look beyond traditional media

Kids love toys, and toys can be used to share a medical message. For example, a pacemaker company once gave out panda bears to juvenile patients with a pocket sewn over the heart. Into that pocket, a plastic dummy pacemaker was placed. The stuffed animal became both a souvenir and a teaching point as nurses could show that the panda bear had a pacemaker in the same place as the child.

Approaches like this can go a long way to helping reach out to a patient population that's often overlooked when it comes to on-target educational content.

Children are part of the family

When one person has a serious medical problem, it typically impacts the whole family. In fact, one study of cardiac patients showed that the spouse or significant other of the patient actually suffered more stress related to the illness or injury than the patient!

During times of family crisis, kids can get shut out, either because no one thinks about discussing the medical issues with them or because parents and family are trying to shield the children from the problem.

Healthcare providers can play a major role in incorporating the child into the discussion about the illness of a loved one. A special “guided tour” of the hospital or facility, an up-close look at some of the machines and equipment used, and some appropriately framed messages about disease and treatment can help ease a child’s fears. The point of this exercise is to demonstrate responsiveness to the child’s concerns rather than disseminate specific medical information.

“During times of family crisis, kids can get shut out, either because no one thinks about discussing the medical issues with them or because parents and family are trying to shield the children from the problem.”

Some hospitals actually put out easy-to-read booklets that explain adult health problems for the children of the family. Booklets like this should frame the problem from the child’s perspective and answer questions they may have including:

• What will this illness do to my loved one?
• Can I still play with or hug or touch my loved one? If not, why not?
• Is there anything I might accidentally do that could hurt my loved one?
• What kind of medicine or treatment does my loved one need?
• Will my loved one get better?
• If things are going to change, how will those changes affect me?

Don’t forget translations

While children are often the most linguistically adept individuals in bilingual or multilingual families, hospitals cannot assume that all children speak or read English. Some of the training materials for children transcend linguistic barriers easily. The stuffed animal or coloring book can work well for children who speak Spanish or Vietnamese or any other language, particularly if the hospital has bilingual staff who can help facilitate the interpretation of some basic verbal information.

“Children can allow educators a chance to get creative with their medical messages by using non-traditional media and different approaches."

If a hospital or clinic has a particularly proven pediatric training booklet or program, a formal translation can be money well spent. When getting materials translated, be very careful about using non-professional translators since they can jumble or distort your message. Professional translation services for this kind of project would typically charge by the word; a 500-word text might cost anywhere from $80 to $150 (US dollars) by a professional translator educated in both languages and trained specifically in the nuances of translating medical content.

Pediatric education pays dividends

Children, like adults, can be frightened and even overwhelmed when they suddenly are confronted with a major medical problem. Even if the medical crisis is not their own but belongs to someone in their family, children can easily become terrified and create more stress for the family trying to cope with a medical situation. For that reason, hospitals and clinics should take steps to “build in” educational tools for the smaller set.

Sometimes the same type of training materials that work for adult patient education can work well for older children or can be somewhat “re-tooled” to work for children. However, children can allow educators a chance to get creative with their medical messages by using non-traditional media and different approaches.