Developing and evaluating printed education materials: a prescriptive model for quality.

Nurses are frequently called upon to develop and evaluate printed education materials (PEMs) in their role as patient educators. This article describes the use of the Evaluating Printed Education Materials (EPEM) model as a prescriptive guide and quality standard for developing new PEMs or critiquing existing ones. Outlined in the five phases of the model are a series of nursing, learning, and instructional design principles that are intended to increase the relevance, readability, and comprehensibility of PEMs for the patients and families who use them. The patient-centered focus of the model makes it applicable across nursing specialty areas and care settings. Examples of how the model can be used in the care of orthopaedic patients are presented.