Reducing the Use of Complex Words and Reducing Sentence Length to &lt;15 Words Improves Readability of Patient Education Materials Regarding Sports Medicine Knee Injuries

Hanish, Stefan; Cherian, Nathan; Baumann, John; Gieg, Samuel D.; DeFroda, Steven F.

doi:10.1016/j.asmr.2022.10.004

Cited by 7 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…According to recent data provided by the U.S. Department of Education, over 50% of adults in the United States exhibit inadequate literacy skills, reading at or below the 6 th -grade level (Rothwell, 2020). Hanish et al (2022) similarly note approximately 21% of U.S. adults read at, or below a 5 th -grade level, while an additional 30% read at a level between 6 th and 8 th grade. Readability, in the context of written materials, refers to the ease with which individuals can read and comprehend content (Gray et al, 2019).…”

Section: Literacy/readability In the Populationmentioning

confidence: 79%

When Checking a Box is not Enough: The (Un)Readability of PREA Messaging

Krienert,

Walsh

2023

The Prison Journal

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The Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) was implemented to prevent sexual assault within correctional facilities. To communicate PREA principles to inmates, written materials including handbooks, policies, and brochures are utilized. This research evaluates the readability of PREA messaging, employing three established metrics: Flesh Reading Ease Score, Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook. Findings reveal significant deviation from recommended reading targets for both the general (7th–8th grade) and inmate (5th–6th grade) populations. Prison Rape Elimination Act policies averaged a 16th-grade level, raising concerns regarding the efficacy of PREA implementation and compliance in light of potential comprehension challenges.

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Section: Literacy/readability In the Populationmentioning

confidence: 79%

When Checking a Box is not Enough: The (Un)Readability of PREA Messaging

Krienert,

Walsh

2023

The Prison Journal

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“…To address this issue, organisations such as the AMA and NIH recommend that all PEMs should have readability at or below the sixth-grade reading level. However, PEMs within the field of orthopaedics have consistently been shown to rarely meet these recommendations, potentially having a negative impact on patient health literacy and outcomes (Abdullah et al, 2022;Baumann et al, 2023;Ghanem et al, 2023;Hanish et al, 2023;Stelzer et al, 2022;Sudah et al, 2023).…”

Section: F I G U R Ementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is recommended that PEM readability should be at or below the 6th‐grade level. However, studies consistently show that these recommendations are rarely met in PEMs related to orthopaedic diseases, conditions, treatments, and recovery (Abdullah et al., 2022; Baumann et al., 2023; Ghanem et al., 2023; Hanish et al., 2023; Stelzer et al., 2022; Sudah et al., 2023). Similar findings have consistently been shown in PEMs related to THA and TKA, which is particularly problematic as these surgeries are extremely common (Doinn et al., 2020; Karimi et al., 2023; Murphy et al., 2022; Shnaekel et al., 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A standardised method for improving the readability of patient education materials for total hip & knee arthroplasty patients

Baumann,

Marshall,

O’Malley

et al. 2024

Musculoskeletal Care

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PurposeOrthopaedic Patient Education Materials (PEMs) related to total hip and total knee arthroplasty (TKA) have repeatedly been shown to not meet American Medical Association and National Institutes of Health recommendations for readability. PEMs that are written with too much complexity limit the ability of some readers to comprehend the material. These complex PEMs also limit the health literacy of patients, a key determinant of health status and outcomes. The purpose of this study was to improve the readability of total hip and TKA‐related PEMs by limiting the use of sentences with ≥15 words and limiting the use of words with ≥ three syllables.MethodsThe readability of all 26 PEMs in this study was assessed before and after editing. Editing of articles included limiting the use of sentences with ≥15 words and limiting the use of words with ≥three syllables while preserving PEM content.ResultsA total of 26 PEMs were available for use in this study after the application of inclusion and exclusion criteria. The percentage of original PEMs at or below the recommended sixth‐grade reading level was 0% (0 out of 26), while the percentage of edited PEMs at or below the sixth‐grade reading level was 50% (13 out of 26).ConclusionsUsing this standardised method for reducing sentence length to <15 words and limiting the use of words with >2 syllables, while preserving key content, significantly improved the readability of PEMs related to total hip and TKA.

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“…Surprisingly, studies of the text readability of electronic (and printed) medical and health instructions have, from time to time, resulted in "warnings" that those texts needed to be revised [15]- [19]. Due to the fact that most medical texts are outside the expected readability level, some medical scholars recommended to reduce the use of complex words and sentence length in the medical texts [20]. This phenomenon is not confined in the medical context; in the academic context broadly, the readability of scientific texts has also been found decreasing over time [21].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Text readability: its impact on reading comprehension and reading time

Zainurrahman,

Yusuf,

Sukyadi

2024

EduLearn

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Recently, the readability of texts has become the focus of reading research because it is believed to have implications for reading comprehension, which is of utmost importance in the field of English as a foreign language (EFL), particularly in the teaching, learning and assessment of reading comprehension. Unfortunately, the influence of text readability on reading comprehension (and reading time) has not been well studied in the EFL context. Most text readability studies are conducted in medical contexts, but these studies are often limited in predicting readability scores for sample texts. To address this gap, the current study aimed to evaluate the influence of text readability levels (based on the Flesch-Kincaid grade level (FKGL)) on students’ reading comprehension and reading time. Data were collected through reading test and analyzed using SPSS version 22. The Friedman test revealed that the distribution of students' reading comprehension score (X2=197.532, p=0.000) and reading time (X2=215.323, p=0.000) are different in each text, suggesting that the readability of texts has a significant influence on both. This study contributed to the practices of reading instruction and assessment. Limitations and suggestions for further research are briefly discussed.

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Reducing the Use of Complex Words and Reducing Sentence Length to <15 Words Improves Readability of Patient Education Materials Regarding Sports Medicine Knee Injuries

Cited by 7 publications

References 26 publications

When Checking a Box is not Enough: The (Un)Readability of PREA Messaging

When Checking a Box is not Enough: The (Un)Readability of PREA Messaging

A standardised method for improving the readability of patient education materials for total hip & knee arthroplasty patients

Text readability: its impact on reading comprehension and reading time

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