(Part 2) The PEAR Framework: The Secret Sauce for Behavior Change

Is dance a sport or an art? Is a hot dog considered a sandwich? Does the weekend begin on Friday or Saturday?!

When it comes to patient engagement, we all know it’s more of an art than a science—but what if it could be both? 

Enter the PEAR Framework, a simple, structured approach to behavior change and patient engagement—invented by yours truly—and focuses on four key elements: 

• Priming

• Educating

• Activating

• Reiterating

Why PEAR Works 🍐

The beauty of the PEAR Framework is its simplicity. It’s like the 3-ingredient olive oil, salt, and pepper dressing on a salad that knocks it out of the park. 

It’s adaptable, patient-centered, and crafted to create lasting change by focusing on the how of behavior, not just the what. 🤌

So, whether you directly treat patients or work on patient engagement initiatives in health tech, the PEAR Framework is here to help you make meaningful, sustainable connections.

Over the next four weeks, we will examine one part of the framework at a time in order. This week, we’re tackling “E” for educating.

Educate: Knowledge Is Power

Contrary to Cersei’s infamous “power is power” line from Game of Thrones, education is power. 🧠🧠🧠

After all, patient engagement was hailed as the “blockbuster drug of the century” in 2013. 

Education is a crucial part of patient engagement and is one helluva drug that serves as a cornerstone of the PEAR Framework. Providing patients with clear, digestible information about their health, treatment options, and the benefits of taking action helps patients make better choices.

How do we know this? The proof is in the pudding. 

A meta-analysis from 2022 revealed that patient education significantly reduced the risk of clinical depression by 35% and anxiety by 60%. Longer educational interventions (lasting three months or more) were particularly effective in achieving these mental health benefits.

Another study found that knowledge about hypertension influences medication adherence and healthy lifestyle behaviors, improving treatment efficacy. This study also found that patients showed a strong interest in learning more about their condition but probably received too little information about it in their regular appointments.

Education works, and how you present it makes a big difference between creating effective education and education that will be ignored.

Education in Digital Health

There are countless frameworks and principles around providing effective patient education, so I won’t attempt to boil the ocean. Instead, I’ll share a few guiding principles to get us started:

🔤 Plain, common everyday language. Medical jargon can be overwhelming, so digital education should use simple, clear language that mirrors how everyday people naturally speak and understand information. Break down complex concepts with relatable analogies. This ensures accessibility and empowers patients to take an active role in their care.

🥅 Alignment with the patient’s learning goals. Education should be relevant and meaningful to the patient’s concerns, whether managing a chronic condition, recovering from surgery, or improving overall health. What does your patient care about, and what are they trying to do? Digital tools can personalize content based on patient goals, increasing engagement and retention.  

🔍 Problem/solution-oriented. I think about “what, so what, now what?” when developing curricula and individual content assets (If you’re interested, let me know, and I can go deeper) to guide my patient from island A to island B.

🧠 Building upon the patient’s existing knowledge. Effective education connects new information to what the patient already knows, reducing cognitive overload. Think about where the patient is in their journey and insert yourself there. Digital platforms can assess baseline knowledge and deliver content that fills gaps without being redundant or overwhelming.

🧑‍🏫 Building in opportunities for teach-back. Patients retain information better when explaining it in their own words. Digital tools can integrate interactive quizzes, guided reflection questions, or AI-driven chat responses to encourage teach-back and confirm understanding.

✨Individualizing education as much as possible. Every patient has unique needs, preferences, and learning styles, so digital education should be adaptable. Features like personalized learning paths, voice-over or model options for following along exercises, and culturally relevant content can help tailor education to each individual.

🔈Multi-modal, multi-sensory learning approach. Patients learn best when information is presented in multiple formats, such as videos, animations, audio narration, and interactive exercises. Consider your targeted patient population—do they have visual deficits? Or perhaps they are busy athletes who are always on the go so audio may be the preferred medium. A digital education platform should offer a mix of text, visuals, and hands-on elements to accommodate different learning preferences. 

📑 Building opportunities for practice/experiential learning. Simply reading or watching content isn’t enough—patients need chances to apply what they’ve learned. Digital education can incorporate scenario-based learning, virtual simulations, or guided step-by-step exercises to reinforce skills and boost confidence in real-life applications. 

The goal is to inform, not overwhelm—because an educated patient is engaged and empowered.

🧠 Unhinged: Thoughts

No one asked for it, but I think everyone’s problems would be solved with more sleep. If we all got restful, restorative sleep every night, the world would be a happier place.

Two weeks ago, I got sick with a stomach bug 🪲 and OMG, was it horrific. On the worst night of the bug, my WHOOP reported that I had slept for a grand total of one hour. I’ll spare you the details. My respiratory, heart, and HRV metrics were out of whack.

The next day, I barely had energy to do laundry, much less get off the couch. So I read for hours (a mini readathon if you will), which felt amazing! Although my stomach was not 100%, it felt so damn good fully committing to a slow day.

Thankfully, I was able to make up for it the next night. I slept a total of ten hours! That sleep was truly healing. 💤 

Because I was sick, I knew I needed to let my body rest. However, good sleep can often be forgotten or de-prioritized on a regular basis. I do it all the time! Sometimes, it takes getting sick to prioritize your health so you can re-calibrate your system and take a step back to take care of your mind and body.

Take care and see you next week,

Erika