Phase 2 Work Plan Objectives

A detailed work plan was developed to guide the project based on the findings of Phase 1. Three main objectives, with sub-objectives, and tasks connected to each, were developed as follows:

OBJECTIVE 1
Offer appropriate and effective health information and education to hard-to-reach patients and their families

Sub-objective 1.1
This involved setting up Health Education Committees consisting of health care professionals, patients, family members and/or volunteers in each unit to act in an advisory role.

Tasks

• to recruit members based on their sensitivity to the communication needs of patients and families
• to hold meetings and record their activities and decisions.

Sub-objective 1.2
This involved designing a teaching module in each unit on one health topic that met the different communication needs of hard-to-reach patients using input from the Education Committees. Due to time and funding limits, only parts of the teaching module could be implemented during this phase of the project.

Tasks in each unit

• to review existing documents, programs and other teaching resources, noting materials useful for hard-to-reach patients
• to adapt one or two print documents to Plain Language in English and French, with content and editorial input from the Education Committees
• to translate one print document that had been adapted to Plain Language into one of the following languages: Italian, Greek, Cantonese, and Cree
• if possible within the timeframe of the project, to identify and purchase one non-print document and the equipment needed to deliver the teaching modules in each unit. Also identify programs and interactive activities suitable for hard-to-reach patients to be implemented in the next phase of the project.