How Much Understandable of Patient Information Leaflets?

Abstract

Objectives: Patient information leaflets play a crucial role in educating patients about their conditions and in sharing the responsibility for treatment and follow-up with their physicians. Purpose of this study indentifying the readability level of prospectuses according to national education system of our country and comparing the readability ratios among each other. Materials and Methods: Fifteen oral anticoagulants and their equivalents, various readability analyses were performed, including the Gunning Fog Index (FOG), Automated Readability Index (ARI), Flesch-Kincaid Readability Analysis, Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Ateşman, Coleman-Liau, and Powers-Sumner-Kearl (PSK). Results: The metrics we extracted were calculated according to the formulas developed for criteria, such as Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, FOG, ARI, Flesch-Kincaid, FRE, Ateşman, Coleman-Liau, and PSK which are primarily scientifically accepted and have been developed to understand readability. According to the Ateşman scale, the average readability value of patient information leaflets is 53.2. It is observed that the readability value of the patient information leaflets for 15 oral anticoagulant drugs is between 50 and 59 on the Ateşman scale. Leaflets are moderately difficult to understand and requires high school education. IN terms of comparison patient information forms of Eliquis 2.5/5 mg and Pradaxa 150 mg were easier to read, unlike Pradaxa 110 mg. Conclusion: All the 15 oral anticogulants’ prospectuses requires simplifying an education level that equivalent to the average schooling years in Turkey, which is 6 years, instead of a high school-level education.

Keywords

• readability
• prospectuses
• oral anticoagulants
• adverse effects