Helping Parents and Children with Medical Jargon
Pediatric visits can be the most enjoyable part of the day In a busy primary care practice. However, our pediatric patients are often anxious and suspicious of these visits — fearful of poking, prodding, and the dreaded “shots”. All of this anxiety is amplified when children are admitted to the hospital or have to undergo medical procedures. Additionally, despite their intelligence, our medical jargon is simply too challenging to comprehend. The fine certified life specialists at Phoenix Children’s Hospital have produced an app for parents to help explain these complex terms in soft language using the teach-back method. Their goal was to help enhance comprehension prior to visits, admissions, procedures via easy to understand terms, illustrations, and sounds. Parents can use the app as a teaching tool for their children. The app was designed with MediaKube LLC who co authored Phoenix’s previous hit, Car Seat Helper. This more recent app uses a soft language glossary, quality illustrations, and sound clips to enhance comprehension between medical providers, parents, and kids. The app also is easily toggled between English and Spanish. The app has been nationally recognized winning an “Communicators Award of Distinction”.
Evidence-based medicine
The Simply Sayin’ app is based on the teach-back method of patient education. This proven method helps to ensure understanding and retention of medical information. Additionally, the app uses age appropriate soft language to avoid medical jargon and enhance comprehension.
What providers would benefit from this app?
Students, residents, mid-levels, primary care, pediatrics, emergency medicine providers. The app should be prescribed to parents ahead of pediatric hospital stays and procedures, but could be equally useful for any routine pediatric check-up, immunization visit, etc.
Price
o Free.
Likes
o Comprehensive glossary of medical terms and procedures; quality illustrations/sound clips
o Detailed directions for providers and parents.
o Available in English/Spanish with a touch of a button
Dislikes
o Font can be a bit small in some parts of the app
o No links to teach-back resources
Overall
Another highly useful app from Phoenix Children’s Hospital who brought you Car Seat Helper. Simply Sayin’ uses the teach-back method for both providers and parents to explain medical terms and procedures to pediatric patients using soft language and avoiding medical jargon. The app’s ease of use, comprehensive glossary and illustrations makes it a winner..
Overall Score
o 5.0 stars.
User Interface
o 4.5 stars.
Easy to use, available in English/Spanish with comprehensive glossary of medical terms, quality illustrations and explanations of procedures using soft language and avoiding jargon.
Multimedia Usage
o 5.0 stars.
The app includes quality drawings explaining anatomy and procedures and allows for drawing within the app. Links to additional resources on the Phoenix Children’s Hospital website.
Price
o 5.0 stars.
App is free.
Real-World Applicability
o 5.0 stars.
If you are a provider who treats children especially in an urgent/emergent/hospital setting, I strongly recommend you download Simply Sayin’ and prescribe it to parents in your practice. The app is surprisingly comprehensive and based on proven techniques of teach-back and the use of Soft Language to avoid medical jargon for kids. The app is easy to use and customizable for provider and parent alike. Highly recommended.
Device Used For Review
o iPhone 8 running iOS 12.4.
Available for iPhone, iPad, and Android.
Disclaimer: The views expressed are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the official policy of the Department of the Army, the Department of Defense or the U.S. Government.
