This document summarizes a presentation about producing health information for children and young people. It discusses trends in children's media usage including increased tablet ownership. It provides an overview of a guide created by the Patient Information Forum for developing high-quality health information for children and young people. The guide was informed by experts in children's health and involved seeking input from children, families, teachers and clinicians. The presentation highlights the importance of testing information with the target audience and providing information in engaging formats like stories and games.

1. Producing health
information for children
and young people
Colleen
Shannon
Freelance
Healthcare
Writer
&
Editor
www.healthcarewriting.co.uk

2. About
this
presentation
These
slides
are
from
a
talk
I
gave
at
a
Patient
Information
Forum
event:
Creating
information
for
children
and
young
people
London,
January
2015

3. The
next
few
minutes
• Media
trends
• About
the
guide:
overview
and
experts
• Your
information:
Making
it
work
• The
voice
of
experience
• Inspiring
case
studies
• Useful
resources
• The
future!

4. Media
trends
(UK)
0
20
40
60
80
100
Age
12-­‐15
Age
8-­‐11
Age
5-­‐7
Age
3-­‐4
2011
2014
Source:
Ofcom.
2014.
Children
and
parents:
Media
attitudes
report.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-­‐literacy/media-­‐use-­‐attitudes-­‐14/
Charts_Section_3.pdf
Tablet
ownership
(%)

5. Media
use
Source:
Ofcom.
2014.
Children
and
parents:
Media
attitudes
report.
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/research/media-­‐literacy/media-­‐use-­‐attitudes-­‐14/
Charts_Section_3.pdf
• 35%
of
children
aged
5-­‐15
read
nearly
every
day:
so
print
is
still
an
important
format
• 77%
use
a
games
console
every
day:
so
if
you
want
the
widest
reach,
this
might
be
the
way
to
go

6. About
the
guide
Guide
to
producing
health
information
for
children
and
young
people
July
2014
Patient
Information
Forum
www.pif.org.uk

7. Expert
advisers
• Children’s
author
:
Camilla
de
la
Bedoyere
• Reviewers
• Professor
Sue
Ablett,
Children’s
Cancer
and
Leukaemia
Group
• Cassie
Davis,
CLIC
Sargent
• Kath
Evans,
NHS
England
• Beki
Moult,
GOSH
• Professor
Nisha
Dogra,
University
of
Leicester
• Dr
Knut
Schroeder,
GP
• Additional
advice
• Jenny
Frank,
Children’s
Society
(young
carers)
• Vicki
Kirwin,
National
Deaf
Children’s
Society
(accessibility)

8. Inside
the
guide
• Foreword
by
Kath
Evans
• Writing
tips
• Why
the
right
information
matters
• Involving
children
&
young
people
• Communication
approaches
• How
to
create
high
quality
information
• Case
studies;
Resources;
Bibliography

9. Making
it
work
Ask
the
kids!
Involve
their
families
and
teachers
Be
inclusive
Seek
educational
input
Ask
clinicians
Work
with
authors
&
artists
Make
best
use
of
media
Reach
your
audience
Evaluate
and
report

10. The
voice
of
experience
“Get
information
across
in
stories…”
“User
test
at
every
stage
…”
“Get
input
from
the
people
who
you’ll
be
relying
on
to
distribute
your
resources…”
“Be
flexible
and
never
say
no.
Be
really
open
to
lots
of
different
ideas.”
“Enjoy
your
work!”
“Know
your
audience,
check
you
know,
and
then
ask
again!”

11. Inspiring
case
studies
Many
of
our
case
study
contributors
are
speaking
today:
• Monkey
Wellbeing
• Breast
Cancer
Care
• Northumberland
Tyne
&
Wear
NHS
Foundation
Trust
•
Diabetes
UK
• National
Children’s
Bureau

12. Inspiring
case
studies
Newham
Council
&
Resonant
Media
Play
your
way
to
60
a
day
Campaign
with
schools
to
reduce
obesity
and
increase
physical
activity
among
7
-­‐
11
year
olds
www.resonantmedia.co.uk

13. Inspiring
case
studies
British
Heart
Foundation
yHeart
Website
and
social
media
for
young
people
www.yheart.net

14. Other
inspiring
work
National
Deaf
Children’s
Society
My
life,
my
health
Campaign
to
improve
deaf
young
people’s
experiences
of
GP
services.
youngpeople.ndcsbuzz.org.uk/
mylifemyhealth

15. Other
inspiring
work
Best
Beginnings
Baby
buddy
App
for
young
parents
www.bestbeginnings.org.uk/babybuddy

16. Useful
resources
• Ofcom.
Children
and
parents:
Media
attitudes
report.
stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/
• General
Medical
Council.
2007.
0-­‐18
years
guidance.
www.gmc-­‐uk.org
•
Joan
Ganz
Cooney
Centre
www.joanganzcooneycenter.org
• O’Reilly,
Dogra
&
Ronzoni.
Research
with
children:
Theory
and
practice.
Sage
Publications,
2013.

17. Looking forward to the
future!