Readability of Printed Educational Materials Used to Inform Computer Tomography

Abstract

This study examined the readability of 4 different kinds of patient education handouts about computer tomography tests from 5 different university-affiliated hospitals in Korea. Readability was evaluated in terms of syntax, length of sentence, usage of unfamiliar words, foreign words, Chinese words, abbreviation, and technical jargon. This study found that all of the handouts were very difficult to read. An excessive use of complex and long sentences was found. Unfamiliar words, rarely used in everyday life, were recklessly used. Most of the unfamiliar words were Chinese words and can be exchanged with Korean language. Excessive medical terminologies were used without any explanations. Based on the study results, guidelines to make the handouts easier and more accessible to patients and their family were recommended.