An analysis of the readability characteristics of oral health information literature available to the public in Tasmania, Australia.

Tony Barnett,Ha Hoang,Ashlea Furlan

doi:10.1186/s12903-016-0196-x

Abstract

BackgroundThe effectiveness of print-based health promotion materials is dependent on their readability. This study aimed to assess the characteristics of print-based oral health information literature publically available in Tasmania, Australia.MethodsOral health education brochures were collected from 11 dental clinics across Tasmania and assessed for structure and format, content and readability. Reading level was calculated using three widely-used measures: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Flesch Reading Ease, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) reading grade level.ResultsThe FKGL of the 67 brochures sampled ranged from grade 3 to 13. The grade level for government health department brochures (n = 14) ranged from grade 4 to 11 (5.6 ± 1.8). Reading levels for materials produced by commercial sources (n = 22) ranged from 3 to 13 (8.3 ± 2.1), those from professional associations (n = 22) ranged from grade 7 to 11 (8.9 ± 0.9) and brochures produced by other sources (n = 9) ranged from 5 to 10 (7.6 ± 1.5). The SMOG test was positively correlated with the FKGL (rs = 0.92, p < 0.001) though consistently rated materials 2-3 grades higher. The reading level required to comprehend brochures published by government sources were, on average, lower than those from commercial, professional and other sources. Government materials were also more likely to contain fewer words and professional jargon terms than brochures from the other sources.ConclusionA range of oral health information brochures were publically available for patients in both public and private dental clinics. However, their readability characteristics differed. Many brochures required a reading skill level higher than that suited to a large proportion of the Tasmanian population. Readability and other characteristics of oral health education materials should be assessed to ensure their suitability for use with patients, especially those suspected of having low literacy skills.

Highlights

The effectiveness of print-based health promotion materials is dependent on their readability
Alexander [3] assessed the reading level of 24 general dental educational materials and reported that over 40 % of them were written at a grade level higher than recommended
Sampling Oral health brochures readily available to patients were collected from a convenient sampling of public and private general dental clinics located in large and small towns in Tasmania

Summary

Introduction

The effectiveness of print-based health promotion materials is dependent on their readability. This study aimed to assess the characteristics of print-based oral health information literature publically available in Tasmania, Australia. Wilson [2] assessed the readability of 35 patient education information brochures used in community healthcare centres serving low-income populations. Hendrickson and colleagues [4] assessed readability as well as thoroughness, textual framework, and the terminology used in 27 paediatric oral health materials and found both conflicting information and variation in readability across publishers [4]. There has been limited research published on the readability of print based oral health information made available in Australia. Our search recovered only three recent studies [5,6,7] which was limited to information about paediatric oral health

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