Readability of self-report clinical outcome measures

Area of Science:

• Psychometrics
• Clinical Psychology
• Health Services Research

Background:

• Self-report clinical outcome measures are vital for assessing patient progress.
• The accuracy of these measures relies on patient comprehension.
• Previous research has not extensively evaluated the readability of commonly used instruments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the readability of five frequently used self-report clinical outcome measures.
• To determine if these measures are accessible to diverse patient populations.
• To inform researchers and clinicians about appropriate measure selection based on patient education.

Main Methods:

• Applied the Flesch Reading Ease (RE) formula to evaluate text complexity.
• Utilized a Flesch abstraction formula to further assess readability.
• Analyzed five specific measures: Beck Depression Inventory, Integra Outpatient Tracking Assessment, MOS 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey, Social Adjustment Scale-Self Report, and Symptoms Checklist-90-Revised.

Main Results:

• The assessed measures generally require an eighth or ninth-grade reading level for comprehension.
• Variability in readability exists across the evaluated instruments.
• The findings indicate potential comprehension barriers for patients with lower educational attainment.

Conclusions:

• Outcome researchers must carefully consider the educational background of their clients when selecting self-report measures.
• Ensuring appropriate readability enhances data validity and the effectiveness of clinical assessments.
• Future research should explore adapting measures or developing new ones with broader accessibility.