BACKGROUND Patient information leaflets (PILs) are often used to reinforce and provide further information relating to treatment choices, risks, and alternatives. An assessment of the quality of commonly used orthodontic patient information leaflets is lacking. METHODS A cross-sectional assessment of patient information leaflets from two international orthodontic societies was undertaken. The...

BACKGROUND This study examined the content and general readability of pediatric oral health education materials for parents of young children. METHODS Twenty-seven pediatric oral health pamphlets or brochures from commercial, government, industry, and private nonprofit sources were analyzed for general readability ("usability") according to several parameters: readability, (Flesch-Kincaid gra...

UNLABELLED More than 90 million Americans have low levels of health literacy that may contribute to poor health outcomes. Assessment of the readability of patient education materials (PEMs) is a vital component of health education. PURPOSE The aim of this study was to describe the readability of PEMs used in community healthcare settings serving low-income populations to provide further insig...

METHODS: All top-rated tweets (as per Twitter algorithm) under #PlasticSurgery in January 2017 were retrospectively reviewed. Data from tweets with links to full, open access and society/ institutional patient information articles were extracted. Content and identity of the person tweeting was assessed. Readability was analyzed using established tests: Coleman-Liau, Flesch-Kincaid, Flesch Readi...

BACKGROUND Quantitative tools have been developed to evaluate the readability of written documents and have been used in several studies to evaluate information and consent forms. These studies all showed that such documents had a low level of readability. Our objective is to evaluate the readability of Information and Consent Forms (ICFs) used in clinical research. METHODS AND FINDINGS Clini...

BACKGROUND The written informed consent form (WICF) provides information that must be written in simple, easily understood language, highlighting voluntary participation safeguards, risks, possible benefits, and procedures. Currently, the possibility that research subjects do not fully understand the text of the WICF or their rights as participants, despite having signed the WICF and agreed to ...

Previous research has reviewed the quality of online information related to specific mental disorders. Yet, no comprehensive study has been conducted on the overall quality of mental health information searched for online. This study examined the first 20 search results of two popular search engines-Google and Bing-for 11 common mental health terms. They were analyzed using the DISCERN instrume...

IMPORTANCE Patients are increasingly using the Internet to supplement finding medical information, which can be complex and requires a high level of reading comprehension. Online ophthalmologic materials from major ophthalmologic associations should be written at an appropriate reading level. OBJECTIVES To assess ophthalmologic online patient education materials (PEMs) on ophthalmologic assoc...

BACKGROUND Institutional review boards (IRBs) are charged with safeguarding potential research subjects with limited literacy but may have an inadvertent role in promulgating unreadable consent forms. We hypothesized that text provided by IRBs in informed-consent forms falls short of the IRBs' own readability standards and that readability is influenced by the level of research activity, local ...