Abstract
In more and more medical settings, physicians have less and less time to be effective
communicators. To be effective, they need accurate, current information about their
patients. Tailored health communications can facilitate positive patient-provider
communications and foster behavioral changes conducive to health. Tailored communications
(TCs) are produced for an individual based on information about that person. The focus
of this report is on tailored print communications (TPCs). TPCs also enhance the process
of evaluation, because they require a database and the collection of patient-specific
information. We present a Tailoring Model for Primary Care that describes the steps
involved in creating TPCs. We also provide examples from three ongoing studies in
which TPCs are being used in order to illustrate the kinds of variables used for tailoring
the products that are developed and how evaluation is conducted. TPCs offer opportunities
to expand the reach of health professionals and to give personalized, individualized
massages in an era of shrinking professional contact time.
Keywords
Tailored print communications - Primary care - New' media - Cancer screening
