Letters
Assertions about patient information are not supported
EDITOR,--I am surprised at the assertion of Philip Meredith and colleagues that patients do not use information provided in printed form "nor particularly like doing so."1 Such an assumption seems to contradict research findings over the past decade showing that patients tend to be much more satisfied with communication after they are given printed information,2 may rate leaflets more highly as a source of information than doctors,3 and want to receive printed information about surgical and medical interventions.
Meredith and colleagues' claim that leaflets may not be understood by "over a third of those reading them" seems to rest on studies using readability formulas. The validity and usefulness of these studies have been questioned.4 Hawkey and Hawkey reported that a leaflet on diverticular disease with a Flesch reading ease score of 46 was rated as easy to understand by 78% of patients.3 Ley claimed that a text with such a
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- New directions in information for patients
- Philip Meredith, Mark Emberton, and Carol Wood
BMJ 1995 311: 4-5.[Extract] [Full Text]
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