Readability of Patient-Reported Outcome Questionnaires For Use With Persons With Tinnitus

Abstract

In the demand for standardization of tinnitus assessment tools, developers and clinicians should consider readability as another testable construct, as poor readability may affect both validity and reliability.

Readability Level of Spanish-Language Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Audiology and Otolaryngology

“…Our results are in line with previous studies that have calculated the readability index of English-language texts in audiology and otolaryngology and found most measures were beyond the level recommended for the average patient (Atcherson et al, 2011;Kahn & Pannbacker, 2000;Kelly-Campbell et al, 2012;Laplante-Lévesque & Thorén, 2015;Nair & Cienkowski, 2010). In one recent study, researchers examined self-reported hearing disability measures in English and concluded, using three formulae, the range of readability for the HHIE was sixth to 9.6th grade and the range for the APHAB was sixth to 7.8th grade (KellyCampbell et al, 2012).…”

“…It is recommended that health-related materials for the general public should be written at or below a fifth-grade level, or age 10-11 years (Doak, Doak, & Root, 1996;Weiss & Coyne, 1997). However, a number of previous studies have shown that widely used English-language materials in audiology and otolaryngology are beyond the recommended level (Atcherson, Zraick, & Brasseux, 2011;Kahn & Pannbacker, 2000;Kelly-Campbell, Atcherson, Zimmerman, & Zraick, 2012;Laplante-Lévesque & Thorén, 2015;Nair & Cienkowski, 2010).…”

Validation of a French-Language Version of the Spatial Hearing Questionnaire, Cluster Analysis and Comparison with the Speech, Spatial, and Qualities of Hearing Scale

“…Readability Analysis (Item Equivalence) • One of the concerns when developing and translating questionnaires is to ensure that the questionnaire remains easily readable by the target population (Calderon et al 2006;Paz et al 2009;Atcherson et al 2011). Several readability indexes have been defined, most of them based on the number of words per sentence and the number of syllables per word (Reck & Reck 2007).…”

Validation of a French translation of the speech, spatial, and qualities of hearing scale (SSQ) and comparison with other language versions

“…One of the concerns when developing and translating questionnaires is ensuring that the questionnaire remains easily readable by the target population (Calderon et al, 2006;Paz et al, 2009;Atcherson et al, 2011). Several readability indices have been defi ned, most of them based on the number of words per sentence and the number of syllables per word (Reck & Reck, 2007).…”