Davis T C, Crouch M A, Wills G, Miller S, Abdehou D M
Department of Family Medicine and Comprehensive Care, Louisiana State University School of Medicine-Shreveport.
J Fam Pract. 1990 Nov;31(5):533-8.
Patient education materials and hospital forms are given to patients with little regard for their ability to read them. Nationwide sampling and data from the 1980 census suggest that a high proportion of patients cared for in public hospitals are functionally illiterate. In this study, 151 adult primary care patients in five different ambulatory care settings were tested for reading comprehension. Patient education materials and forms from each clinic were analyzed for readability using a standard computer program. A large discrepancy was found between the average patient reading comprehension and the ability levels needed to read patient education materials. The average reading comprehension of public clinic patients was 6th grade 5th month. Most tested patient education materials required a reading level of 11th to 14th grade, and standard institutional consent forms required a college-level reading comprehension. In the public clinics there was a gap of more than 5 years between patient reading levels and the comprehension levels required by written patient materials.
患者教育材料和医院表格在发放给患者时，很少考虑患者是否有能力阅读。全国范围内的抽样调查以及1980年人口普查的数据表明，在公立医院接受治疗的患者中，很大一部分在功能上是文盲。在本研究中，对五个不同门诊护理机构的151名成年初级护理患者进行了阅读理解测试。使用标准计算机程序对每个诊所的患者教育材料和表格进行了可读性分析。结果发现，患者的平均阅读理解能力与阅读患者教育材料所需的能力水平之间存在很大差异。公立诊所患者的平均阅读理解水平为六年级第五个月。大多数经过测试的患者教育材料要求阅读水平达到十一年级至十四年级，而标准的机构同意书则要求具备大学水平的阅读理解能力。在公立诊所，患者的阅读水平与书面患者材料所需的理解水平之间相差超过五年。
