![A doodle with a cat on their head reads a sign with the headline “Understanding Your Cat Head Treatment Options.” Smaller text below the headline reads: “Cat head treatment is a personal decision — you get to choose what’s right for you!”]](/wp-content/uploads/WHHL-doodle-2024_07-23-1024x576.jpg)
Here at We ❤️ Health Literacy Headquarters, we’re all about empowering our audiences with the information they need to make health care decisions. But information isn’t all people need to make choices — emotions have a key role to play, too. When people are facing big decisions that will affect their health and quality of life, it’s important to consider their emotional experience.
That’s where decision aids can come in! A decision aid is a tool that helps people learn about their options and weigh the risks and benefits. Decision aids can also help people process the emotions that may come with health care decisions. By communicating with empathy, we can craft decision aids that support readers’ emotional needs.
Try these tips to create empathy-centered decision aids:
Guide your audience through common emotional responses. For example, learning about a new diagnosis can bring up a wide range of emotions, from shock to anger to grief and everything in between. By naming those feelings, you can validate what people are going through and help them anticipate how they may react to new situations. Phrases like “Many people feel…” and “Some people find that…” can help to normalize strong emotions while reassuring readers they’re not alone.
Emphasize personal agency. When people feel overwhelmed, it’s helpful to remind them that they have agency — that there are things they can control. Clearly explain the options on the table, and then remind your audience that the choice is theirs to make. For example, you could say: “[Treatment option] is a very personal decision, and there are no right or wrong answers! It’s always your decision to make, and you can move forward at your own pace.”
Help readers identify their support needs. What do they need help with? And who has the capacity to meet those needs? For example, readers might need a ride home from the hospital, a caregiver to help with daily tasks, or a support person to join them for doctor’s appointments. In addition to these practical needs, many people find clarity in talking through their decision with a loved one.
Speaking of loved ones, keep in mind that family isn’t one size fits all. Using inclusive language to describe families can help your decision aid feel relevant to everyone in your audience.
Help your audience find support and build community. Mental health professionals can help people build coping skills and navigate hard conversations with loved ones. Support groups provide opportunities for people to share their experience and connect with others who’ve been there. If your audience includes people with a specific health condition, consider linking to support groups focused on the condition. Depending on the topic of your decision aid, you might also highlight crisis hotlines like 988.
The bottom line: Decision aids can help people process the complex emotions that come with big health care decisions. By communicating with empathy, we can create decision aids that support our audience’s emotional needs.
Copy/paste to share on social (and tag us!): Decision aids can help people process the complex emotions that come with big health care decisions. Create empathy-centered decision aids with these tips from CommunicateHealth: https://communicatehealth.com/wehearthealthliteracy/creating-decision-aids-with-empathy/
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