Information about pediatric radiation safety can be found online through various medical society websites. That information, however, is written in a way that is too difficult for the average adult to understand, according to a new study from the American Journal of Roentgenology.
“The availability of high-quality web-based informational materials does not necessarily translate into reader comprehension of those materials,” wrote author Paul H. Yi, MD, department of radiology at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland, and colleagues. “Approximately 20 percent of all American adults are functionally illiterate, which is defined as reading below the fourth-grade level, and another 30 percent are marginally literate, which is defined as reading between the fourth- and eighth-grade level.”
To study the readability of information related to pediatric radiation safety, the authors analyzed a total of 54 articles from the Society of Pediatric Radiology, RadiologyInfo and HealthyChildren.org. Six readability tests were applied to each article.
Overall, three articles were written below an eight-grade level. Ninety-one articles were categorized as being “very difficult,” “difficult” or “fairly difficult” to read. None of them were categorized as “easy” or “very easy.”
“Although the preeminent professional societies are using this opportunity to educate patients and their caregivers and parents regarding topics on radiation safety, our study shows that most online pediatric radiation safety–related patient information materials are written at a level higher than the recommended eighth-grade level, which likely contributes to ongoing poor health literacy regarding ionizing radiation safety,” the authors wrote.
So how can this situation be improved? Yi and colleagues provided some suggestions, including replacing technical terms with “simpler words that contain fewer syllables.” Another suggestion was including visual elements and working to shorten the lengths of sentences and paragraphs.
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Michael has more than 16 years of experience as a professional writer and editor. He has written at length about cardiology, radiology, artificial intelligence and other key healthcare topics.