Return-Path: <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov> Received: from literacy (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by literacy.nifl.gov (8.10.2/8.10.2) with SMTP id fAGGG6007014; Fri, 16 Nov 2001 11:16:06 -0500 (EST) Date: Fri, 16 Nov 2001 11:16:06 -0500 (EST) Message-Id: <120.73260a5.29269471@aol.com> Errors-To: listowner@literacy.nifl.gov Reply-To: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Originator: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Sender: nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov Precedence: bulk From: MarkH38514@aol.com To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-health@literacy.nifl.gov> Subject: [NIFL-HEALTH:3457] Re: Readability formulas X-Listprocessor-Version: 6.0c -- ListProcessor by Anastasios Kotsikonas X-Mailer: AOL 5.0 for Windows sub 138 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII" Status: O Content-Length: 2850 Lines: 54 Point well taken. But I still use readability formulas pretty regularly, and I try to get clients not to rely exclusively on grade level estimates. Pointing out that their materials are written at a graduate school reading level, or that their document averages 30 words per sentence does get their attention. There is evidence that word frequency is a reasonable estimate of word difficulty. Words that do not appear very often in print are usually harder to read and understand than words that appear frequently. [Breland, H.M. (1996) Word frequency and word difficulty: A comparison of counts in four corpora. Psychological Science, 7, 96-99] Depending on the words used, text can be incomprehensible at any grade level. I think it's a mistake to conclude that 6th graders can always understand something written at a 6th grade reading level. They may if the writer really knows the audience; if not, then readers won't understand. We also need to be aware of document length and information overload. For example, the new HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) will transform the way health care facilities use patient information, so hospitals have to inform patients about their privacy rights. A sample HIPAA consent form from the American Hospital Association (developed by a law firm) was 3,600 words long--180 sentences at a 2nd year college reading level. This document may be completely incomprehensible for sick (and elderly) patients under physical, psychological, and emotional stress. Re-writing it to a lower grade level may not help at all if there is still more information than the patient can process. [Hochhauser, M. (2001) How you can comply with HIPAA--and help your patients understand their privacy rights. Patient Care Management, 16(12), 1; 3-4] Of course readability formulas were developed well before concepts of information processing and information overload were discovered. When I do a reability analysis I always include all the text, rather than just a sample of a few hundred words, since total number of words is an important measure. Most people read 200-300 words per minute, so a 3,600 word HIPAA document may take 15 - 20 minutes to read. Is that feasible during a hospital admission process? Common, everyday, concrete words are more likely to be understood than rare, abstract words. Most of the readability researchers recognized this point, and emphasized the importance of using words that readers already understand. Jargon, even if it's a one-syllable word, may be incomprehensible to people who aren't in the same field. Mark Hochhauser For more information, contact: Mark Hochhauser, Ph.D. Readability Consulting 3344 Scott Avenue North Golden Valley, MN 55422 Phone: (763) 521-4672 Fax: (763) 521-5069 E-mail: MarkH38514@aol.com
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