Evaluation of the readability of ACOG patient education pamphlets

Objective: To evaluate whether ACOG's patient education pamphlets comply wi th the recommended readability level for health education materials intende d for the general public. Methods: All 100 English-language pamphlets available during 1997 (created or revised between 1988 and 1997) were evaluated using four standard readab ility formulas. Results; Mean readability levels of ACOG's pamphlets were between grade 7.0 to grade 9.3, depending on the formula used. Analysis of readability over the 10 years showed a trend toward lower readability levels. Analysis by ca tegory of pamphlet found that the lowest readability levels were in "Especi ally for teens" pamphlets. Conclusion: Our data suggested that most of ACOG's patient education pamphl ets currently available are written at a higher readability level than reco mmended for the general public. The readability of those pamphlets improved in the 10 years since the organization published its first pamphlet, but t he goal of sixth-grade readability level has not been reached. (C) 1999 by The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.