Formalization of an Assessment Grid Evaluating the Quality of Visual Aids to Reinforce Individual Health Education in General Medical Consultations

According to the World Health Organization, health is defined as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Health is determined by biological, psychological, social, and cultural factors and must therefore be considered holistically. It is influenced by the various events that individuals encounter throughout their lives. They are given the means to take charge of their own health with the aim of improving it.

At the individual and collective levels, patients are supported through preventive measures and health promotion initiatives. Educational tools are developed to facilitate the transmission of useful information to patients, develop their health knowledge and skills, and increase their autonomy so that they can make their own decisions. This is the definition of health education.

In their practice, general practitioners play a key role in patient health education. They support patients in a variety of areas: providing information, prevention, screening, therapeutic education, primary care, follow-up, coordination of care, etc. The common thread linking all these areas is the use of communication tools to foster the doctor-patient relationship and thus enable optimal care.

These communication tools include visual aids (sketches, diagrams, posters, leaflets, animations and videos, anatomical charts and even 3D models, etc.). These aids, which are widely used in medicine, primarily engage the sense of sight.

Several studies and literature reviews have shown the usefulness of visual aids in improving healthcare communication, with a positive impact on patient attention, memory, understanding, compliance, and satisfaction. However, studies on the value of visual aids in general practice consultations are rarer.