Design Applications in Health Document Communication: An Integrative Review

Abstract

Clear and effective communication is one of the pillars of patient safety, treatment adherence, and improved clinical outcomes. However, medical documents such as informed consent forms and hospital discharge instructions often use complex technical language, hindering patient understanding. In this context, visual, graphic, and informational design emerges as a key strategy to enhance health communication. This integrative review, based on the methodology of Whittemore and Knafl (2005), analyzed 16 studies published between 2019 and 2024, identified in the PubMed database. The findings were grouped into three categories: applied design techniques, impacts on patient understanding and experience, and best practices and implementation challenges. The most common strategies included redesigning documents to highlight key information (43.75%) and using visual resources such as infographics and pictograms (37.5%). Nearly all studies (93.75%) reported improvements in patients’ comprehension, autonomy, and confidence. However, 87.5% also highlighted challenges such as the lack of standardized guidelines and the need for training in user-centered design. The review concludes that the integration of visual and textual strategies is more effective than textual simplification alone, fostering more inclusive and safer communication. Strengthening this practice requires collaborative efforts among healthcare professionals, designers, and managers, as well as further research to assess its long-term impacts.