To investigate how readability affects the way adults who are learning to read evaluate health information, a mixed methods research study was designed based on a sociotechnical framework and using theories of everyday life information seeking. The study analyzed a corpus of consumer health information documents (N=501) using the CohMetrix text analysis tool (McNamara, Graesser, McCarthy & Cai, 2014) and a set of NLP-based tools developed by Educational Testing Service (ETS) called SourceRater and Language Muse® to identify specific linguistic features that contribute to readability. In this study, these tools were used to assess the difficulty of reading health information. In the next phase of the study, adults who are learning to read (N=20) assessed the readability of the documents in the corpus as part of a usability study. The study found that the documents’ low narrativity, limited concept and word overlap, and low cohesion contribute to the difficulty of reading health information for adults who are learning to read. It also identified differences in perceptions of reading difficulty among adults who are learning to read. The findings highlight the limitations of current health literacy guidelines and of using readability formulas like the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level formula to determine the readability of consumer health information, and questions the reliability of “Easy to Read” health information collections. Health information documents that are easier to read can improve access to health information that supports and addresses the needs of communities with poor health outcomes, including adults who are learning to read.
Subject (authority = RUETD)
Topic
Communication, Information and Library Studies
Subject (authority = ETD-LCSH)
Topic
Health literacy
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = RULIB)
ETD
Identifier
ETD_9416
PhysicalDescription
Form (authority = gmd)
electronic resource
InternetMediaType
application/pdf
InternetMediaType
text/xml
Extent
1 online resource (200 pages) : illustrations
Note (type = degree)
Ph.D.
Note (type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note (type = statement of responsibility)
by Miraida Morales
RelatedItem (type = host)
TitleInfo
Title
School of Graduate Studies Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier (type = local)
rucore10001600001
Location
PhysicalLocation (authority = marcorg); (displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.