Avoiding the Flu: 6 Things You Can Do; Protecting Your Family From Colds and Flu; Hand Washing to Avoid Colds, Flu, and Other Infections; Bronchitis: What It Is and What You Can Do About It; 45 Things Everyone Should Know About Allergies; Living With Diabetes: 8 Things You Can Do (available in Spanish); Children and Type 2 Diabetes (available in Spanish): What Every Parent Needs to Know; Asthma: What It Is and What You Can Do About It; 50 Things You Should Know About Arthritis. Santa Cruz, CA: Journeyworks Publishing. Prices start at $18.00 for 50 pamphlets.
Journeyworks Publishing has released 2 new sets of informational brochures that focus on a variety of health-related topics. The tri-fold brochures, which start at $18.00 for 50 pamphlets, discuss issues such as arthritis, asthma, diabetes, bronchitis, and the flu in straightforward ways that attract the reader's attention. Each colorful brochure features a simple layout and easy-to-read text, making the content accessible to a variety of audiences. The language used is comprehensible and the vibrant illustrations draw readers in, encouraging them to peruse the contents.
Two of the brochures, "50 Things You Should Know About Arthritis" and "45 Things Everyone Should Know About Allergies," discuss the respective conditions and tips for readers to manage the disease. In the arthritis pamphlet, osteoarthritis (OA) is the main focus. The 50 things listed about OA include statistics about the disease as well as what action the reader can take to address the problem, including discussing OA with their physician. For the allergy pamphlet, colorful blocks delineate different topics such as seasonal allergies and pollen. Each topic has factual information about the allergen and suggestions to help prevent such irritants in the home. The last page of the pamphlet lists possible treatments for allergies and advises readers to talk to their healthcare professional for guidance on their specific situation.
Diabetes is a topic of 2 of the brochures, which are also available in Spanish. Both target adults with diabetes, one from the perspective of a person with the disease and the other from a parent's perspective. The "Living Well With Diabetes: 8 Things You Can Do" brochure offers a checklist of suggestions for managing the disease, from eating right to regularly testing blood sugar levels. Meanwhile, "Children and Type 2 Diabetes: What Every Parent Needs to Know" discusses definitions and symptoms of the disease as well as tips to help children lead normal lives if diagnosed.
Several brochures focus specifically on prevention of colds and the flu. These brochures discuss the importance of hand-washing, list 6 things the reader can do to avoid the flu, and give information about how to protect family members from these common ailments. The vivid illustrations occur throughout these brochures and occasionally show a humorous perspective; for example, the cover of "Avoiding the Flu: 6 Things You Can Do." This particular brochure shows a cartoon person hiding from a walking manifestation of the flu, which may be enticing because of the informal representation of a serious subject. The information within the brochures is valuable to readers because easy solutions to avoid the flu are listed as well as answers to common questions. Hand-washing, not touching your face, and avoiding close contact with sick persons is the type of advice offered in the brochures to keep the flu at bay, while a handy table educates readers about the difference between colds and flu.
Journeyworks Publishing seeks to be diverse in its illustrations of people in the brochures as well as diverse in the topics chosen for each publication. The mission of the instructional brochures can be summed up by a company-issued press release, which stated that Journeyworks publishes "over 450 creative, easy to read, and culturally sensitive titles" that are used in "public health departments, schools, hospitals, and social service groups across the country[horizontal ellipsis]to prepare and protect your readers."
The brochures distributed by Journeyworks Publishing offer healthcare professionals an option to continue educating patients after they have left the office. These brochures tackle complex medical topics and make them understandable for a lay audience. Children and teens may read the brochures because they address a specific ailment or because of the colorful illustrations; parents may read the brochures in order to educate themselves or other family members about a particular problem. No matter the reason, the simple language and layout of the brochures coupled with the appealing illustrations and colorful designs make these publications an attractive option for patient education and outreach.
Janelle Perron Jennings, MEd
Curry School of Education University of Virginia Charlottesville, Va