Readability assessment of internet-based consumer health information

BACKGROUND: A substantial amount of consumer health-related information is available on the Internet. Studies suggest that consumer comprehension may be compromised if content exceeds a 7th-grade reading level, which is the average American reading level identified by the United States Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS). OBJECTIVE: To determine the readability of Internet-based consumer health information offered by organizations that represent the top 5 medical-related causes of death in America. We hypothesized that the average readability (reading grade level) of Internet-based consumer health information on heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and diabetes would exceed the USDHHS recommended reading level. METHODS: From the Web sites of the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Lung Association, American Diabetes Association, and American Stroke Association we randomly gathered 100 consumer-health-information articles. We assessed each article with 3 readability-assessment tools: SMOG (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook), Gunning FOG (Frequency of Gobbledygook), and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. We also categorized the articles per the USDHHS readability categories: easy to read (below 6th-grade level), average difficulty (7th to 9th grade level), and difficult (above 9th-grade level). RESULTS: Most of the articles exceeded the 7th-grade reading level and were in the USDHHS "difficult" category. The mean +/- SD readability score ranges were: SMOG 11.80 +/- 2.44 to 14.40 +/- 1.47, Flesch-Kincaid 9.85 +/- 2.25 to 11.55 +/- 0.76, and Gunning FOG 13.10 +/- 3.42 to 16.05 +/- 2.31. The articles from the American Lung Association had the lowest reading-level scores with each of the readability-assessment tools. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support that Web-based medical information intended for consumer use is written above USDHHS recommended reading levels. Compliance with these recommendations may increase the likelihood of consumer comprehension.     

Readability of printed patient information for epileptic patients

BACKGROUND: Written information can be a valuable tool in patient education. Studies evaluating written information for various disease states have frequently demonstrated that the majority of literature is written at a readability level that exceeds that of the average patient, and it has been recommended that written communications for adult patients should be provided at a fifth-grade level or lower. OBJECTIVE: To assess the readability of printed patient information available to patients with epilepsy. METHODS: Samples of written patient information (n = 101) were obtained from various sources. The information was classified based on source, content, and intended audience, and readability was assessed using the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES) and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) score. RESULTS: The mean FRES and FKGL score for all samples were 50.2 and 9.4, respectively. Significant differences were observed in both the FRES and FKGL score of material obtained from different sources; however, no differences were observed when material was analyzed according to content. The mean FRES and FKGL score for materials intended for adults were 49.6 and 9.5, respectively. In comparison, mean FRES and FKGL scores for materials intended for children/adolescents were 78.9 and 5.3, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The majority of information tested was written at a level that exceeds the reading ability of many patients. The information intended for children is actually written at the appropriate level for an adult. Efforts should be taken to develop written teaching tools that target low-level readers, especially for a disease state that affects many children.     

鸡胚在生物医学研究中的应用

背景:近年来应用鸡胚培养组织细胞研究广泛,但应用鸡胚培养神经细胞尚无文献报道。目的:综述了应用鸡胚进行组织细胞培养的研究进展,以便找到一种方便价廉的神经细胞培养手段。方法:应用计算机检索CNKI和PubMed数据库中1998-01/2011-06关于鸡胚培养模型及神经细胞培养的文章,以鸡胚绒毛尿囊膜模型;神经细胞培养或chicken embryo chorioallantoic membrane model;neuronal culture为检索词进行检索。选择文章内容与鸡胚培养模型相关,同一领域文献则选择近期发表或发表在权威杂志文章。初检得到205篇文献,根据纳入标准选择34篇文章进行综述。结果与结论:鸡胚在病毒的分离、培养、疫苗制备,肿瘤生物学机制和药物筛选等方面均有广泛应用。与其他培养方法相比具有价廉,方便,快速等优点。充分正确的利用该培养体系可为多领域的研究提供科学可行的方法和思路。     

Ethical considerations for nurses in biomedical research

This article addresses ethical considerations for nurses in biomedical research who are members of institutional review boards and nurses who manage patients at the clinical level. The evolution of ethical awareness within the research community is examined, and the process of research approval at the National Institutes of Health is described. A dynamic open systems model which elucidates the research process has been included.     

生物医学刊物中研究报告的技术编辑

背景 :大多数期刊试图采用像校对 ,“体例”及语法常规编辑等技术性编辑手段来提高文章质量。尽管在技术性编辑上投入巨大 ,但这是否能提高生物医学研究发现的可读性以及文献的实用性仍然是个未知数。目的 :评估技术性编辑对同行评审的期刊中的研究论文的影响。检索策略 :检索了Cochorane图书馆 2 0 0 1年第一期 ,MEDLINE(最后一次检索为 2 0 0 0年 2月 ) ,1 2种其他数据库 ,手检了 9种期刊并核查了相关文献以备进一步的参考。也检索了因特网并联系了该领域的研究者及专家。选择标准 :有关生物医学期刊中对原始研究文章进行技术性编辑的…