Writing Excellence - Digital/Online Content

Summary of work

People with psoriasis struggle with suboptimal treatment outcomes and have often been worn down by their health system experiences.

Our task was to empower patients to take charge, have balanced conversations with healthcare professionals (HCPs) and put themselves at the centre of their care.

For patient empowerment to work, it needs to address real patient needs. So, we utilised a co-creation process, involving patients in the development of resources every step of the way.

Eight patients joined a steering group and guided us through their experiences of psoriasis care and suggesting practical solutions.

NICE has a psoriasis pathway, but it is written for HCPs. The ‘You Can. We Did.’ version is designed to help patients visualise this pathway.

This guide uses personal experiences and advice to help patients build a positive partnership with their HCP, communicate openly and honestly, and make the most of their consultation time.

To get the most out of a co-creation approach, we called in more experts - three further patients and two patient groups (The Psoriasis Association and Changing Faces). Then, together with the original psoriasis guides, we refined and evolved the materials to ensure they are as relevant, credible and engaging as possible.

Judges' comments

This work combined strong design elements, with an evocative maze to show the patient pathway, with a useful consultation guide that adopted the right tone for patients (who, it should be noted, had obviously been involved in its development via a strong co-creation process). There was also good signposting throughout and the tone and style of writing catered very well for the audience.