Introduction
A comprehensive review of the related literature was conducted. This review involved reviewing Australian and international information resources related to the following:- Communication of health status and treatment plans to patients, including communication to a culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) audience.
- Presentation of medical information from a consumer perspective.
- How attitude shapes information needs, particularly focusing on the application of the functional theory of attitude to the medical domain.
- Communication of health information and pathology data. In particular, communication of the current status of a condition and how that information is used to develop a health management plan (i.e. how to design reports that are likely to be understood (plain language, layout, use of graphics, and issues associated with miscommunication and the benefits of more effective communication).
- Research into individual differences in information preferences (i.e. Psychological coping styles (monitoring versus blunting styles) and information processing styles (from a dual processing perspective)).
- Relevant areas of psychology, journalism, information technology, medical informatics and marketing, graphical design, quality assurance in health care, and health promotion.
The information gained from the literature review informed the development of the initial pathology prototypes.