Department of Health Communication, The University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan.
Department of Health Communication, School of Public Health, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, 113-8655, Japan.
BMC Res Notes. 2023 Oct 25;16(1):291. doi: 10.1186/s13104-023-06570-1.
In Japan, educational materials on the home care of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) were developed owing to limited access to medical care during the pandemic. This study quantitatively evaluated the understandability, actionability, natural flow, and readability of 87 materials published by local governments in Japan for patients with COVID-19. Their understandability and actionability were rated using the Japanese version of the Patient Education Material Evaluation Tool for Printed Materials (PEMAT-P). Natural flow and readability were rated using Global Quality Score (GQS) and jReadability, respectively.
Of the 87 materials, 55 (62.1%) were understandable and 33 (37.9%) were actionable according to the PEMAT-P. Regarding understandability, the materials used medical terms without providing definitions and lacked summaries. Regarding actionability, the materials did not demonstrate explicit steps or utilize visual aids to help the readers take action. The mean (SD) of GQS was 3.44 (0.98), indicating a moderate level of naturalness and comprehensiveness of the materials. The mean (SD) score for readability was 2.4 (0.6), indicating a "lower advanced" level. However, challenges regarding the materials' plain language remained, such as defining medical terms, summarizing the content for understandability, and using charts and tables that encourage patients to act.
在日本，由于大流行期间医疗资源有限，开发了针对冠状病毒病 2019（COVID-19）家庭护理的教育材料。本研究定量评估了日本地方政府为 COVID-19 患者发布的 87 种材料的可理解性、可操作性、自然流程和可读性。它们的可理解性和可操作性使用日本版印刷材料患者教育材料评估工具（PEMAT-P）进行评估。自然流程和可读性分别使用全球质量评分（GQS）和 jReadability 进行评估。
在 87 种材料中，根据 PEMAT-P，有 55 种（62.1%）是可理解的，有 33 种（37.9%）是可操作的。关于可理解性，这些材料使用了没有提供定义的医学术语，并且缺乏摘要。关于可操作性，这些材料没有展示明确的步骤，也没有利用视觉辅助工具来帮助读者采取行动。GQS 的平均值（SD）为 3.44（0.98），表明材料的自然性和全面性处于中等水平。可读性的平均（SD）得分为 2.4（0.6），表明处于“较低高级”水平。然而，材料的平实语言仍存在挑战，例如定义医学术语、提高理解性的内容摘要，以及使用鼓励患者采取行动的图表和表格。
