Abstract

CAVACO, Afonso Miguel  and  VARZEA, Dulce. Contribution to the study of information leaflets readability in Portuguese pharmacies. Rev. Port. Sau. Pub. [online]. 2010, vol.28, n.2, pp.179-186. ISSN 0870-9025.

Introduction: Health and its promotion are closely related to the level of education or literacy of individuals. In community pharmacies, it is expected in patient education to make use of written information through patient leaflets. This tool gives autonomy to its users, based on the individual literacy skills. Health literacy is one's ability to obtain, process and interpret information about health and health services in order to make informed decisions. How to measure the level of difficulty in reading and understanding texts written in English has been studied since 1920, when the first formula to rank the minimum level of schooling that is required by a text to be read and understood were proposed and designated by readability formulas. Material and methods: The main objective of this study was to experiment readability formulas, for analyzing the complexity of reading and interpreting information leaflets commonly used in Portuguese pharmacies. Two formulas, the SMOG and the Flesh-Kincaid Index, were applied to a sample of 4 patient leaflets, estimating the number of years of schooling required for the proper understanding of these texts. Two independent accredited translators translated the brochures into English, resulting in a consensus version for each leaflet. The Portuguese retroversions were evaluated to confirm the proximity of the translations with the original texts. The simultaneous use of two formulas informed the degree of concurrent validity and reliability of the results. Results: The average value for the SMOG was 11.13 (SD = 0.81), while the average Flesch-Kincaid was equal to 8.32 (SD = 0.90). These results correspond to a minimum level of education in Portugal around 10 years. The correlation coefficient between scales was 0.948 (p = 0.51), convergence that supports results validity. For this set of patient leaflets, the minimum formal education required to read and understand its content was 9 complete years of schooling. A significant proportion of the population using pharmacies as a credible and accessible source of health information, particularly the chronically ill and elderly, present levels of education usually lower than the 9th grade. This way, the current patient leaflets might not be fully understood by its recipients. The current leaflets, as a tool for health related decisions, may not have the utility that one would initially anticipate. Conclusions: Readability formulas are important tools for the evaluation and adjustment of written information to the potential users, working as feasible alternatives to classical tests of literacy in the population, and contributing to the success of health education strategies. It would be desirable to develop and validate readability tools in our own language.

Keywords : Health literacy; Community pharmacies; Patient leaflets; Readability; SMOG.

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