Readability of web-based patient education materials from the Polish Ministry of Health

Abstract

Research on readability of patient education materials has shown that the majority of health-care texts do not meet the requirements for plain language (Stossel et al., 2012). Creating texts which are not suitable for readers leads to social exclusion of people with low levels of education. It also has a detrimental influence on patients’ health and health behaviours (Vastag, 2004). The primary goal of this research is to assess the readability of patient materials published online by the Polish Ministry of Health. The research consists of two interrelated parts. In the first part, 200 patient education texts, each of 300 words, will be analysed with the use of a linguistic tool (‘Jasnopis’) which allows to indicate text difficulty and other linguistic features. So far, about 100 texts have been examined and described in detail. In the second stage of the research, 30 educational texts will be chosen and distributed among 500 readers, especially with low and middle levels of education, in order to assess their reading comprehension. Furthermore, simplified texts will be included in the study – it is expected that text modifications will significantly improve reading comprehension. Finally, the participants will be asked about their opinions on the potential impact of readability of web-based education materials on the image of public health care services as well as the patients’ willingness to broaden their health knowledge. The results of the research might raise the awareness of Polish policy-makers about the need to simplify education materials dedicated to patients.