READABILITY FORMULAS - CAUTIONS AND CRITERIA

Health care practitioners are being confronted with the uneven fit between the reading skill level of patients and the reading difficulty level of health-based literature. Readability formulas are being used to obtain a seemingly precise measure of the latter. However, excess emphasis placed on readability scores may cause the practitioner to overlook other important factors in the reading process. This paper examines the readability formula process, discusses other factors which contribute to the readability of healthbased literature and raises some cautions for the patient educator manager responsible for matching patient and text. © 1991.