Hochhauser Mark
Ethics Behav. 1999;9(1):1-20. doi: 10.1207/s15327019eb0901_1.
Both research participants and patients are presumably offered protection from harm through the processes of informed consent and patient's rights. However, both documents are often written at unacceptably high "college" reading levels, making them incomprehensible to the "average" reader who may be reading at a junior-high reading level. Readability researchers are often unfamiliar with important details of readability software, leading to consistent underestimates of document readability. Most informed consent and patient's rights documents are writtin in a one-size-fits-all style and fail to take into account important differences based on cognitive development. Several strategies are described to improve the quality and effectiveness of these materials.
研究参与者和患者大概都通过知情同意程序和患者权利获得免受伤害的保护。然而，这两份文件的撰写往往采用了高得令人无法接受的“大学”阅读水平，使得那些可能只有初中阅读水平的“普通”读者难以理解。可读性研究人员通常不熟悉可读性软件的重要细节，导致对文件可读性的持续低估。大多数知情同意书和患者权利文件都是以一刀切的方式撰写的，没有考虑到基于认知发展的重要差异。本文描述了几种提高这些材料质量和有效性的策略。
