"A Visual Guide to Pelvic Fractures"

Patients in the Intensive Care Unit have endured severe trauma and their families are under great emotional stress. Caregivers find it challenging to speak with them, and need a more effective way to communicate with patients and their family members about pelvic fractures. Pelvic fractures are hard to explain to patients and their families because of the inherent anatomical complexity, confusing medical terminology, and intricate physical relationships between internal organs. This confusion can impact the healthcare decisions the family makes on behalf of their loved one.

 

By introducing two different visual components will create a more effective learning environment that results in comprehension and retention of the information. The first is a series of animations, the second is a group of handouts.



Animation

The first part is a series of Adobe Flash animations that will be viewed in the ICU with a caregiver. The home page is organized, allowing the caregivers to find and show only the appropriate animations to the family members. Each animation has a play/pause button, allowing the caregiver to pause and further explain something. The images are simple and didactically colored, to help differentiate anatomical structures. 

Handouts

The second part is color handouts that feature Adobe Illustrator artwork, which visually explains the most common locations of impact and fracture. The handouts are given to the family members and can be personalized, or written on, for each patient. They can be referenced after leaving the hospital, which allow individuals outside the ICU to understand the injuries as well.