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Updated: Jun 1, 2026

Oral Health Assessment by Lay Personnel for Older Adults
Published on: February 2, 2020
Readability of 3 heart disease health-related quality of life questionnaires
Andrea N Gromoske1, Neil Oldridge, Michael J Brondino
1Helen Bader School of Social Welfare, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA.
Purpose:
To compare the readability of the English language versions of 3 heart disease health-related quality of life questionnaires, the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure (MLHF) Questionnaire, the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ), and the MacNew Heart Disease Health-Related Quality of Life (MacNew) Questionnaire.
Methods:
The readability of the MLHF, the SAQ, and the MacNew was calculated using 6 different readability formulas; the FOG Index, the Fry Readability Formula for Short Passages, the Harris-Jacobson, the Flesch, the New Dale-Chall, and the SMOG.
Results:
The reading grade level of the MacNew averaged between the fifth and sixth grades. Readability of the MLHF and the SAQ averaged between the seventh and eighth grade levels.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest that care should be taken to select heart disease health-related quality of life instruments that match closely the reading level of the target population as the ease of reading these 3 heart disease health-related quality of life instruments varies.
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