Urinary tract infection (UTI): A whiteboard animation patient education video

Objectives: To create a patient-centered whiteboard animation video to provide education on the causes, risk factors, prevention strategies, and treatment options for urinary tract infections (UTIs).

Methods: We created a 4-minute patient-centered whiteboard animation video using evidence-based recommendations from the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada's (SOGC) best practice clinical guideline on recurrent urinary tract infections (UTIs). Our video describes the symptoms, causes, risk factors, prevention, and treatment of UTI.

We used strategies of lay language and brevity of content to maximize viewer engagement. For example, we described the classic symptoms of UTI including dysuria, urinary frequency, and/or hematuria as “frequent painful peeing and strawberry red urine.” We included information about how UTIs are diagnosed when patients present with symptoms to their healthcare provider, which would involve the gold-standard of urine culture for accurate diagnosis and information about the uropathogen and its susceptibilities. We highlighted evidence-based strategies such as the use of low-dose vaginal estrogen for postmenopausal patients with recurrent UTI and a daily dose of 36 grams of cranberry extract pills, rather than cranberry juice, for adequate prevention of UTI. We also used the video as an opportunity to remind patients that hematuria is not always related to UTI and may require further workup and investigations with a healthcare professional.

Our script was reviewed by members of the general public before being finalized. We liaised with a graphic artist to create simple labelled diagrams and drawings and with a voiceover artist for narration and recording in a professional studio. We included a summary of important takeaway messages at the end of the video. Lastly, from the video and its content, we created an infographic consistent with the theme of our patient education website – www.bepelvichealthaware.ca.

Clinical Relevance: UTIs are among the most common bacterial infections in women, with a lifetime incidence of 50-60% as well as significant patient morbidity and healthcare costs. Patient education is crucial to improve health outcomes and patient-physician engagement. It can be challenging to present sensitive and complex information to patients related to pelvic floor disorders in a visual format. Multimedia patient education materials involving a combination of images, voice, and animation improve both short- and long-term comprehension and recall when compared to a traditional lecture or visual educational materials. In comparison to the standard one-on-one counselling, the use of multimedia is also shown to improve knowledge retention related to diagnoses, without compromising patient satisfaction.

Whiteboard animation videos are a novel method to condense complex clinical and health-related information using non-medical terminology for patient counselling and general public knowledge.