Evaluation Of Readability Level Of Information Intended For Consumption By The General Population In The United States
The purpose of this paper is to check the readability level of information intended for consumption by the general population in the United States. Research indicates that information being written at a sixth-grade reading level is optimal to communicate effectively. Despite the fact that a sixth-grade reading levels are optimal, a large portion of health information available to the public is above and at times, well above a sixth-grade reading level. A portion of information will be tested to determine what reading level it is. Following that, there will be recommendations on how to simplify it to a sixth-grade reading level and how information such as this gets analyzed in the workplace.
Reading material from the American Diabetes Association was ran through a readability website and was determined that it had a ninth-grade reading level. As previously stated the recommended reading level of material for public consumption is a sixth-grade reading level. The following information appears in Checking Your Blood Glucose (n.d.): People with diabetes check their blood glucose levels by poking their fingertips and using a blood glucose meter or use a continuous glucose monitor that tells what their blood glucose is at in that moment. The A1C is also a blood test but it tells us what blood glucose levels have been over the last two to three months. How to check with a meter: After washing your hands, insert a test strip into your meter. Use your lancing device on the side of your fingertip to get a drop of blood. Touch and hold the edge of the test strip to the drop of blood, and wait for the result. Your blood glucose level will appear on the meter's display. Note: All meters are slightly different, so always refer to your user's manual for specific instructions.
Other tips for checking: With some meters, you can also use your forearm, thigh or fleshy part of your hand. There are spring-loaded lancing devices that make sticking yourself less painful. If you use your fingertip, stick the side of your fingertip by your fingernail to avoid having sore spots on the frequently used part of your finger.
Readability Interpretation
The information on the website contains an average sentence length of approximately twenty words. The long sentence length may potentially make it more difficult for the public to follow. To make the text more readable, the website would benefit from compressing the sentences by using less words and eliminating the unnecessary words. This in turn, would leave a shorter and more precise text that many people with no background knowledge would benefit from. Also, changing the word glucose to sugar would make it easier for people who found the reading difficult to follow along. Also, by using the same words throughout and limiting the selection of words, a smaller vocabulary will be required to understand the information and thus increasing the chances the reader will comprehend. The following text is an version I edited of information found in Checking Your Blood Glucose (n.d.). It was edited with the intention of making it simpler and making the text more readable.
Diabetics check their blood sugar by poking their fingertips and using a blood glucose meter or a continuous glucose monitor, that shows their blood sugar level. The A1C is a blood test but it shows what the blood sugar levels have been the last two to three months. Steps to check blood sugar: After washing hands, put a test strip into your meter. Use your poking device on the side of your fingertip to get a drop of blood. Put the drop of blood to the edge of the strip and wait. Your blood sugar will show on the meter’s screen. Meters can differ so read your user’s book for steps. Other tips for checking: some meters may also let you use the forearm, thigh, or fleshy part of the hand. There are spring-loaded poking devices that make the poking less painful. You may use the side of the fingertip to stop pain on the commonly used part of the finger. The information was reduced by over thirty words and the average sentence length was reduced from about twenty words a sentence down to sixteen. The average length of each word was decreased, as well as the amount of unique words. The information was made shorter with less to comprehend but the message of the information was the same, it was just easier to understand. The adjustments in the dynamics of the information such as word and sentence length would make it easier for the public to understand. Also simple changes such as changing lancing device to poking device introduces a more juvenile vocabulary which would make it easier to absorb.
Overall, the readability website was very simple and easy to use. All that was required of the user was to plug in the text into the box and hit check the level. I learned the information that went into checking the readability of information and I used what I learn to make the information easier for other people to learn. Also, I was unaware of how difficult it can be to make text easier to read but still getting the required information to the target audience. Many people think of healthcare as just treating the body and making sure that the patient gets better but healthcare professionals, especially nurses due to consistent patient contact, need to educate as well so the patient can be made more aware of their health conditions.
Hospital Handled Information
A hospital in the Tampa Bay area, gives out much information to many of the patients. The information brochures and cards are sent specifically to the hospital from the larger corporation who owns it. The information is sent to the hospital based on the demographics of the area and the patients who arrive into the facility. The hospital does not appear to analyze the information itself much when it pertains to readability but the information is explained by employees whenever it is given to a person.
Summary
Information intended for the general public to consume and learn from should be written simply. While much of the information may seem common sense to some or to healthcare professionals, many people have little to no background knowledge of the topics so it may sound like a new language to them. . It is important that people understand the health information that is available to them because they can’t follow the information if they don’t understand it. Which is why a sixth-grade reading level seems appropriate because what the information is trying to teach and convey could still be given but at a much more understandable level. This would lead to a more knowledgeable general population which would lead to a more health and prepared population.
