The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (2024)

The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (1)

Search all AHRQ sites

The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (2)

Menu

AHRQ Grants by State

    Searchable database of AHRQ Grants

    PCOR

      AHRQ Projects funded by the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Trust Fund.

      SHARE:

      The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (3)The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (4)The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (5)The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (6)

      An Instrument To Assess the Understandability and Actionability of Print and Audiovisual Patient Education Materials

      Version 1.0

      The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) is a systematic method to evaluate and compare the understandability and actionability of patient education materials. It is designed as a guide to help determine whether patients will be able to understand and act on information. Separate tools are available for use with print and audiovisual materials.

      Prepared for:

      Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
      U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
      5600 Fishers Lane
      Rockville, MD 20857

      Contract No: HHSA290200900012I, TO 4

      Authors:

      Sarah J. Shoemaker, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Abt Associates, Inc.
      Michael S. Wolf, Ph.D., M.P.H., Northwestern University
      Cindy Brach, M.P.P., Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality

      Contents

      An Introduction to the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User's Guide
      How To Use the PEMAT To Assess a Material
      Domain: Understandability
      Topic: Content
      Item 1: The material makes its purpose completely evident (P and A/V)
      Item 2: The material does not include information or content that distracts from its purpose (P)
      Topic: Word Choice & Style
      Item 3: The material uses common, everyday language (P and A/V)
      Item 4: Medical terms are used only to familiarize audience with the terms. When used, medical terms are defined (P and A/V)
      Item 5: The material uses the active voice (P and A/V)
      Topic: Use of Numbers
      Item 6: Numbers appearing in the material are clear and easy to understand (P)
      Item 7: The material does not expect the user to perform calculations (P)
      Topic: Organization
      Item 8: The material breaks or "chunks" information into short sections (P and A/V)
      Item 9: The material's sections have informative headers (P and A/V)
      Item 10: The material presents information in a logical sequence (P and A/V)
      Item 11: The material provides a summary (P and A/V)
      Topic: Layout & Design
      Item 12: The material uses visual cues (e.g., arrows, boxes, bullets, bold, larger font, highlighting) to draw attention to key points (P and A/V)
      Item 13: Text on the screen is easy to read (A/V)
      Item 14: The material allows the user to hear the words clearly (e.g., not too fast, not garbled) (A/V)
      Topic: Use of Visual Aids
      Item 15: The material uses visual aids whenever they could make content more easily understood (e.g., illustration of healthy portion size) (P)
      Item 16: The material's visual aids reinforce rather than distract from the content (P)
      Item 17: The material's visual aids have clear titles or captions (P)
      Item 18: The material uses illustrations and photographs that are clear and uncluttered (P and A/V)
      Item 19: The material uses simple tables with short and clear row and column headings (P and A/V)
      Domain: Actionability
      Item 20: The material clearly identifies at least one action the user can take (P and A/V)
      Item 21: The material addresses the user directly when describing actions (P and A/V)
      Item 22: The material breaks down any action into manageable, explicit steps (P and A/V)
      Item 23: The material provides a tangible tool (e.g., menu planners, checklists) whenever it could help the user take action (P)
      Item 24: The material provides simple instructions or examples of how to perform calculations (P)
      Item 25: The material explains how to use the charts, graphs, tables, or diagrams to take actions (P and A/V)
      Item 26: The material uses visual aids whenever they could make it easier to act on the instructions (P)
      Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printable Materials (PEMAT-P)
      Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Audiovisual Materials (PEMAT-A/V)

      Disclosure

      This document was produced under contract to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) under Contract No. HHSA290200900012I, TO 4, "Improving EHRs Patient Education Materials." The AHRQ Task Order Officer for this project was Cindy Brach, M.P.P.

      The content of this document does not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Health and Human Services, nor does the mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsem*nt by the U.S. Government. The authors assume full responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the ideas presented.

      Acknowledgments

      We would like to acknowledge the raters from Abt Associates, AHRQ, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Northwestern University who helped to establish the reliability of the PEMAT; Allyson Ross Davies for her guidance on instrument development; and Ken Carlson and Mark Spranca from Abt Associates for their valuable engagement with the reliability and validity testing of the PEMAT.

      We would like to thank the technical expert panel who helped to shape this instrument by providing guidance and feedback at critical points in the development process: Geri Lynn Baumblatt, M.S.; Cynthia Baur, Ph.D.; Patricia Brennan, RN, Ph.D.; Darren DeWalt, M.D., M.P.H.; Robert Mayes, M.S., RN; Michael Paasche-Orlow, M.D., M.P.H.; Eva Powell, M.S.W., CPHQ; Dean Schillinger, M.D.; Josh Seidman, Ph.D., M.H.S.; and Paul Smith, M.D.

      Related Impact Case Studies and Articles

      University of Texas Health at San Antonio, University Health System Used AHRQ Tools

      AHRQ Tool Helps Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Improve Patient Education Materials

      Center for Health Literacy Promotion Uses AHRQ Tool to Assess Patient Education Materials

      Novant Health Uses AHRQ Tool to Assess and Improve Patient Communications

      Shoemaker SJ, Wolf MS, Brach C. Development of the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT): a new measure of understandability and actionability for print and audiovisual patient information. Patient Educ Couns 2014;96(3):395-403. DOI: 10.1016/j.pec.2014.05.027
      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5085258/

      Publication: 14-0002-EF

      The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (7)

      Page last reviewed November 2020

      Page originally created October 2013

      Internet Citation: The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide. Content last reviewed November 2020. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD.
      https://www.ahrq.gov/health-literacy/patient-education/pemat.html

      The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (8)

      Back to Top

      The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and User’s Guide (2024)

      FAQs

      What does the patient education materials assessment tool pemat measure? ›

      The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) is a systematic method to evaluate and compare the understandability and actionability of patient education materials. It is designed as a guide to help determine whether patients will be able to understand and act on information.

      How to use the pemat tool? ›

      1. Step 1: Read through the PEMAT and User's Guide. ...
      2. Step 2: Read or view patient education material. ...
      3. Step 3: Decide which PEMAT to use. ...
      4. Step 4: Go through each PEMAT item one by one. ...
      5. Step 5: Rate the material on each item as you go. ...
      6. Step 6: Calculate the material's scores. ...
      7. Step 7: Interpret the PEMAT scores.

      What are the 4 steps of the patient education process? ›

      The guidelines are based on the four components of the patient education process: assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation (APIE) (Bastable, 2017). Each component is essential for effective patient education.

      What is the purpose of a patient assessment? ›

      The goal of the primary assessment is to create a general impression: whether the patient appears stable, potentially unstable or obviously unstable. Over time this ability to determine if a patient is “big sick” or “l*ttle sick” will serve a provider well.

      What are patient assessment tools? ›

      Assessment Tools
      • Activities of daily living scale.
      • Cough assessment.
      • Health questionnaires such as those that address recent travel and exposure risks.
      • Waterlow or Braden scale for assessing pressure ulcer risk.
      • Glasgow coma scale/AVPU for assessment of consciousness.

      What are the 5 steps in the patient assessment sequence? ›

      These are assessment, diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation. Assessment is the first step and involves critical thinking skills and data collection; subjective and objective. Subjective data involves verbal statements from the patient or caregiver.

      What are the 4 steps of patient assessment? ›

      Assessment:
      • Physical examination.
      • Inspection.
      • Auscultation.
      • Palpation.
      • Review of systems to develop differential diagnosis.

      What are the 4 P's of a patient? ›

      Many healthcare facilities are using the method of rounding addressing the 4P's (possessions, position, pain, and potty). Despite using the 4 P's rounding, there has been an increase in patient falls and miscommunication among staff and patients.

      How to assess patient education? ›

      Effective patient education is based on a learning needs assessment. Health care professionals assess by interviewing the patient and family, communicating with the medical team and/or observing the patient.

      What is the main purpose of patient education? ›

      Patient education can help providers inform and remind patients of the proper ways to self-manage care and avoid nonessential readmissions. Better education can also help patients understand the care setting most appropriate for their condition and avoid unnecessary trips to the hospital.

      What is the purpose of using krames patient education materials? ›

      Krames' patient education tools comprise a variety of print and digital resources that help providers and their teams engage patients in understanding their condition and adhering to care plans.

      What is the purpose of the assessment phase of patient education? ›

      The purpose of the assessment step in teaching patients is to allow you to gather information about the patient's health care needs and abilities. Planning involves using the information you have gathered during the assessment phase to determine how you will approach the patient's learning needs.

      What is the Prapare assessment tool? ›

      The Protocol for Responding to and Assessing Patients' Assets, Risks, and Experiences (PRAPARE) is a national effort to help health centers and other providers collect the data needed to better understand and act on their patients' social determinants of health.

      What is measure assessment tool mat for? ›

      The MAT® is a valid and evidence-based tool that allows you to collect meaningful, reproducible, quantitative data. This data allows specific treatment, rehabilitation and exercise programs to be developed and tailored to each individual patient or client.

      References

      Top Articles
      Latest Posts
      Article information

      Author: Carmelo Roob

      Last Updated:

      Views: 5938

      Rating: 4.4 / 5 (45 voted)

      Reviews: 92% of readers found this page helpful

      Author information

      Name: Carmelo Roob

      Birthday: 1995-01-09

      Address: Apt. 915 481 Sipes Cliff, New Gonzalobury, CO 80176

      Phone: +6773780339780

      Job: Sales Executive

      Hobby: Gaming, Jogging, Rugby, Video gaming, Handball, Ice skating, Web surfing

      Introduction: My name is Carmelo Roob, I am a modern, handsome, delightful, comfortable, attractive, vast, good person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.