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February 1, 1996Psychology Health & Medicine

The use of readability formulas in health care

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Authors

PLPhilip LeyDePauw UniversityTFTony FlorioAbbotsford Veterinary Clinic

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Implication

Review reveals patient health materials exceed typical reading comprehension levels, indicating a need for clearer writing to improve treatment adherence.

Key Points

  • To examine the reliability, validity, and practical findings of common readability formulas when evaluating written health care materials.
  • Evaluated six standard readability metrics: Dale-Chall Formula, Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch-Kincaid Formula, Fog Index, Fry Readability Graph, and SMOG Grading.
  • Assessed written materials across informed consent, disease investigation, treatment protocols, and lifestyle advice.
  • Reviewed strategies for supplementing quantitative readability scores with additional communication assessments.
  • Substantial amounts of patient-directed written materials regarding informed consent, treatment, and lifestyle are too difficult for target audiences to understand.
  • Enhancing the readability of health-related text generally improves comprehension and can lead to better patient cooperation with treatments.

Cite This Study

Ley et al. (1996) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69dd5dcf4917c2595e10157chttps://doi.org/10.1080/13548509608400003
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