Readability of Invasive Procedure Consent Forms
Readability of Invasive Procedure Consent Forms
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DOI：
10.1111/cts.12364
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发表时间：
2015-12-01
影响因子：
3.9
通讯作者：
Daniels, Alan H.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Eltorai, Adam E. M.;Naqvi, Syed S.;Daniels, Alan H.
背景知情同意是伦理医学的支柱，它要求患者充分理解相关问题，包括干预的风险，收益和替代方案。鉴于美国成年人的平均阅读技能为8年级水平，美国医学会（AMA）和美国国立卫生研究院（NIH）建议患者信息材料不应超过6年级的阅读水平。我们假设，在侵入性程序同意书中提供的文本将超过建议的可读性医疗information.Materials和methodsTo测试这一假设，我们收集的程序同意书从所有外科住院医院在罗得岛州。对于每份知情同意书，采用以下指标测量可读性分析：Flesch阅读轻松公式、Flesch-Kincaid等级水平、雾量表、SMOG指数、Coleman-Liau指数、自动可读性指数和Linsear书写公式。这些可读性分数被用来计算复合文本可读性共识等级Level.ResultsInvasive程序同意书被发现写在平均15级水平（即，大学三年级），这是显着高于平均美国成人阅读水平的8年级（p < 0.0001）和AMA/NIH推荐的可读性指南的病人材料的6年级（p < 0.0001）。努力提高程序同意书的可读性，应提高患者对他们的医疗保健决定的理解。
BackgroundInformed consent is a pillar of ethical medicine which requires patients to fully comprehend relevant issues including the risks, benefits, and alternatives of an intervention. Given the average reading skill of US adults is at the 8th grade level, the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH) recommend patient information materials should not exceed a 6th grade reading level. We hypothesized that text provided in invasive procedure consent forms would exceed recommended readability guidelines for medical information.Materials and methodsTo test this hypothesis, we gathered procedure consent forms from all surgical inpatient hospitals in the state of Rhode Island. For each consent form, readability analysis was measured with the following measures: Flesch Reading Ease Formula, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Fog Scale, SMOG Index, Coleman-Liau Index, Automated Readability Index, and Linsear Write Formula. These readability scores were used to calculate a composite Text Readability Consensus Grade Level.ResultsInvasive procedure consent forms were found to be written at an average of 15th grade level (i.e., third year of college), which is significantly higher than the average US adult reading level of 8th grade (p < 0.0001) and the AMA/NIH recommended readability guidelines for patient materials of 6th grade (p < 0.0001).ConclusionInvasive procedure consent forms have readability levels which makes comprehension difficult or impossible for many patients. Efforts to improve the readability of procedural consent forms should improve patient understanding regarding their healthcare decisions.