Zion A B, Aiman J
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee.
Obstet Gynecol. 1989 Dec;74(6):955-60.
Written educational and informational materials are an important and potentially useful means to complement verbal instructions, assure that consent for tests and procedures is informed, and enhance compliance with treatment. In specialties other than obstetrics and gynecology, many of these materials have been found to be written at a level of difficulty above the reading ability of the intended audience. The SMOG formula was used to assess the level of reading difficulty of all 74 English-language patient education pamphlets developed by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) Committee on Patient Education. Sixty-one of these pamphlets are written at a reading difficulty level of 11th grade or higher. Although the mean reading education level in the United States is at grade 12.6, the mean literacy level is at or below eighth grade. With the exception of one ACOG pamphlet written specifically for low-readability audiences (p-063, Birth Control Pills), all the pamphlets are written at a level higher than the literacy level of many women. The information is unlikely to be understood if it is written above the reading ability of the intended audience. This disparity is accentuated for health-education materials because scientific and technical terms further reduce the level of comprehension. The SMOG formula is a simple means to ensure that educational materials are written at a level appropriate for the intended audience.
书面教育和信息材料是补充口头指导、确保对检查和程序的同意是知情的以及提高治疗依从性的重要且可能有用的手段。在妇产科以外的专业领域，人们发现许多此类材料的编写难度高于目标受众的阅读能力。烟雾公式（SMOG公式）被用于评估美国妇产科医师学会（ACOG）患者教育委员会编写的所有74份英文患者教育手册的阅读难度水平。其中61份手册的阅读难度水平为11年级或更高。尽管美国的平均阅读教育水平为12.6年级，但平均识字水平在八年级及以下。除了ACOG专门为低阅读能力受众编写的一份手册（p - 063，避孕药）外，所有手册的编写水平都高于许多女性的识字水平。如果信息的编写高于目标受众的阅读能力，就不太可能被理解。对于健康教育材料来说，这种差异更加明显，因为科学和技术术语进一步降低了理解水平。烟雾公式是确保教育材料以适合目标受众的水平编写的一种简单方法。
