Table 7.

Dos and don’ts list of improving the readability, usability, and suitability of health care-related documents geared towards the general public

Dos	Don’ts
✓ Assess target readers	✘ Technical and profession-specific terms
✓ Think and write like the target readers	✘ Images that are unclear and will not photocopy or print well
✓ Convey central focus of the document to the reader	✘ Complicated illustrations
✓ Adopt methods to effectively provide concise information, eg, summaries and lists	✘ Fancy fonts
✓ Use examples	✘ Cramping information with no white space
✓ Include graphics: diagrams, graphs, and illustrations pertinent to the audience	✘ Capitalize all the information
✓ Use techniques to grab the readers’ attention, eg, images, diagrams, text emphasis, headers
✓ Use techniques to emphasize important information
✓ Provide relevant definitions
✓ Expand on abbreviations
✓ Design a well-articulated cover/title page
✓ Provide methodical explanations
✓ Make the document easy to navigate through
✓ Make the document easy to read by using simple terms, short sentences, legible font, appropriate font size, adequate white space, and margins
✓ Always field test the document