Readability of Cochlear Implant Brochures: A Potential Factor in Parent Decision Making
Publication: American Journal of Audiology
Volume 31, Number 4
Pages 1133-1142
Abstract
Purpose:
The purpose of this study was to examine the ease of reading cochlear implant (CI) brochures provided to parents and caregivers who are making informed decisions about the management of their child's hearing loss.
Method:
CI brochures from three Food and Drug Administration–approved CI manufacturers were examined: Advanced Bionics, Cochlear Americas, and MED-EL. Reading grade levels and ease of reading were analyzed using a commercially available computer software program, applying six readability formulas commonly used to examine hearing-related patient education materials (PEMs).
Results:
The readability of the CI brochures exceeds the fifth- to sixth-grade reading-level guidelines. The CI brochures may be difficult for the average English-speaking adult to read with ease and requires at least a 10th-grade comparable reading level.
Conclusions:
Despite health literacy initiatives, audiology-focused PEMs continue to be created without full consideration of the burden for the reader. Authors of PEMs should consider the average reading level of the reader as a variable potentially influencing the decision-making process. Likewise, clinicians should consider the average reading level needed to understand PEMs when presenting information and resources to parents and caregivers for informed and shared decision making.
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Copyright © 2022 American Speech-Language-Hearing Association.
History
- Received: Mar 4, 2022
- Revised: Apr 28, 2022
- Accepted: May 31, 2022
- Published online: Sep 2, 2022
- Published in issue: Dec 5, 2022
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Citing Literature
- Ariana S. Johnson, Megan Nelson, Linda I. Rosa Lugo, Timothy Maul, Cedric V. Pritchett, The Effect of Family Structure on the Cochlear Implant Experience of Children, Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10.1044/2024_PERSP-24-00243, 0, 0, (1-8), (2025).
- Blair C. Richlin, Kristina M. Blaiser, Matthew Bush, Living in the Void Between Hearing Health Care Encounters: Evaluation of the Barriers Families Face, Perspectives of the ASHA Special Interest Groups, 10.1044/2023_PERSP-23-00038, 9, 2, (372-385), (2023).
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