We live in a time of incredible healthcare innovation. For countless illnesses, we now have more treatment options than ever. But if patients don’t fully understand those options or decide to adhere to treatment, how many lives can truly be improved or saved?

A lack of empowerment among patients is a major issue. The U.S. Department of Education has found that 80 million people have low health literacy, and more than 65% of those come from minority communities. Too few patients understand their medical needs, their healthcare choices, and ways to keep themselves and their loved ones healthy.

There are many reasons for this disconnect. Many patients have had negative past experiences in health care settings, making them wary of providers and services. This is especially true for populations that experience discrimination and bias like people of color, those in the LGBTQ+ community, and other marginalized groups. This also applies to patients who require mobility or other audio and visual accommodations. When patients from these backgrounds enter healthcare spaces and don’t feel like they really see themselves or are being heard, it only deepens feelings of discomfort and mistrust.

However, there are solutions. We can bridge this gap by making diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) a larger part of patient-facing programs and services. When patients see themselves, they can feel more represented in the healthcare community and foster deeper trust in their providers. This trust then allows for the correction of misinformation and more meaningful, impactful interactions that ultimately help improve outcomes.

Making patient content visually diverse and representative

One place to start is in diversifying the educational materials that are offered to patients or members. Knowing the impact that more diverse and inclusive medical information can have on engaging patients in their own care, improving the design and voice of digital patient tools requires a holistic approach.

For example, most educational materials include illustrations and graphics and may include diversity of skin color.  But representing diverse appearances is about so much more than skin color. By designing an array of complexions and facial features, hair textures, even subtleties like nail and lip colorations, designers have a wider, richer, and more accurate palette to work with. But truly diverse representation also means showcasing an array of ages, gender expressions, sexual orientations, family structures, and physical abilities.

One place in health care that this is critically important is around maternal health. Maternal health is worsening in the United States and the impact is particularly high for women of color. By making maternal health content more diverse, we can help reach a bigger group of consumers – and make sure they feel reflected in the healthcare content they are turning to for guidance or information.

In addition to showing diversity in images, it is also important to look at the tone and voice. For example,  keeping the tone conversational and approachable with a focus on everyday speech and helpful metaphors may help patients in digesting information.

It is also important to have a voice over that is diverse and will sound familiar to a wider array of communities. While many solutions are bilingual – there is also a need to support a wider variety of languages beyond English and Spanish.

When these changes are implemented, the result is more than just users saying they feel represented. The usage of the material increases as well.

Ensuring equitable and inclusive access to medical information

But there is more to do. In our digital age, access has never been more critical. Focusing on equity in content includes how people consume information – multimedia materials should include closed-captioning and visual Aria labels that work better with screen readers.

Finally, there’s inclusion. That’s the part that makes every participant feel not just seen but understood. To be inclusive, you’ve got to consistently challenge norms that we sometimes take for granted.

For example, when recommending that a patient download a digital tool, suggest they check for a Wi-Fi connection first and, if not, they wait until they have one to reduce their bandwidth consumption and potentially reduce data costs.

Think about the images you select when you advise someone to “stay active” for example showing an image of a runner or jogger or some lifting weights. Those forms of activity are not right for every body type, age, or ability. A variety of people doing a variety of activities will allow users to self-select what works for them.

Empowering patients in their care

When diversity is well-implemented in healthcare materials, trust is built and patient-provider relationships improve. It also enhances the medical accuracy of the information presented (for example, an illustration of measles will look different on a pale skin tone than a darker skin tone). And there are big-picture benefits, too: presenting patients with diverse materials can go a long way in lowering costs, and encouraging patients to take a more proactive role in their healthcare decisions, which can help reduce emergency room visits. All in all, diverse materials improve long-term health outcomes for patients, which benefits our health systems as a whole.

To truly empower patients, more healthcare services need to embrace DE&I in practical applications such as patient education. To get there, we’ve got to have conversations that may sometimes feel uncomfortable. We must listen closely to patients, providers, and partners. And we need to remember that better representation is a mindset, not a box to check. We’ve all got to consistently circle back to review and audit our work, always jumping on the opportunity to improve.

But most of all, I recommend celebrating diversity within your team, and inviting others to the party. By building a culture that prioritizes DE&I across the board, you may be surprised to discover how seamlessly and cohesively your work begins to reflect these values.

Photo: gmast3r, Getty Images