Psychological Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, University of Glasgow, Gartnavel Royal Hospital, 1055 Great Western Road, Glasgow G12 OXH, UK.
Emerg Med J. 2010 Apr;27(4):279-82. doi: 10.1136/emj.2009.075424.
It is common practice for information leaflets to be given to people attending hospital after a head injury. Their role is potentially important in alerting the patient or their family to possible undetected or late-emerging cerebral complications in addition to providing guidance aimed to reduce the risk of further injury, or negative social or employment outcomes during recovery. This study examines the readability of information sheets provided by emergency departments in all Scottish hospitals.
Discharge advice leaflets pertaining to head injury from every ED in Scotland were obtained (45 leaflets from 30 hospital sites). Readability was assessed using two recognised formulae (SMOG and FRE). Legibility was assessed using the Royal National Institute for the Blind Clear Print Guidelines. Content was compared to the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN46) recommendations on the early management of head injury.
It is estimated that less than 30% of the population would understand more than 90% of the head injury leaflets. Fewer than half of the leaflets provide even half of the patient information recommended by SIGN46. Analyses of other indicators from clear print guidelines are presented, together with a recommended format for a head injury leaflet and a metric is proposed for evaluating the usefulness of patient information leaflets in general.
在头部受伤后，通常会向住院的人发放信息传单。除了提供旨在降低进一步受伤风险或在康复期间产生负面社会或就业后果的指导外，这些传单在提醒患者或其家属可能未被发现或迟发性脑并发症方面具有潜在的重要作用。本研究检查了苏格兰所有医院急诊科提供的信息传单的可读性。
从苏格兰每个急诊科（30 家医院中的 45 份传单）获得了有关头部受伤的出院建议传单。使用两个公认的公式（SMOG 和 FRE）评估可读性。使用皇家国家盲人研究所的清晰打印指南评估易读性。内容与苏格兰校际指南网络（SIGN46）关于头部损伤早期管理的建议进行了比较。
据估计，不到 30%的人口能够理解超过 90%的头部受伤传单。不到一半的传单提供了 SIGN46 建议的一半以上的患者信息。还介绍了来自清晰打印指南的其他指标的分析，以及头部受伤传单的推荐格式，并提出了用于评估一般患者信息传单有用性的指标。
