Readability of Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Adult Audiologic Rehabilitation

Area of Science:

• Audiology
• Health Literacy
• Rehabilitation Science

Background:

• Patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) are vital tools in adult audiology rehabilitation.
• Assessing the readability of these PROMs is essential for ensuring accurate data collection and patient comprehension.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the readability of published PROMs used in adult audiology rehabilitation.
• To compare these readability levels against expert recommendations for health information.

Main Methods:

• Utilized four readability formulas: Flesch-Kincaid, Gunning Fog, SMOG, and FORCAST.
• Analyzed 10 published PROMs, calculating reading grade levels for instructions, items, response scales, and overall content.

Main Results:

• Most PROM sections surpassed the recommended 6th-grade reading level across all formulas.
• Specifically, all sections exceeded the 6th-grade level when assessed with the FORCAST formula, suitable for non-narrative texts.

Conclusions:

• Published PROMs in adult audiology rehabilitation generally exhibit poor readability.
• Enhancing PROM readability is necessary to ensure data validity and uphold patient/family-centered care principles.