Table 4.
Information content[6]and readability assessment of patient information tools (n = 17)
| Start with a clear statement of aims? | N | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| |
Describes its purpose (e.g. to aid decision-making) |
9 |
53 |
| Describes what it covers (to help the reader judge whether it’s worth carrying on) |
8 |
47 |
|
| Describes who it is for (i.e. which patient groups) |
15 |
88 |
|
|
Provide unbiased and detailed information about options? |
|
|
|
| |
Describes the health condition |
8 |
47 |
| Describes the natural course without treatment |
7 |
41 |
|
| Lists the treatment/management/lifestyle options |
9 |
53 |
|
| Describes benefits of options |
17 |
100 |
|
| Describes risks of options (harms/side-effects/disadvantages) |
17 |
100 |
|
| Describes uncertainty around the current evidence (i.e. what is not known) |
1 |
6 |
|
| Describes procedures (i.e., treatments, targets, monitoring, behaviour change, etc.) |
15 |
88 |
|
|
Contain accurate information? |
|
|
|
| |
Clearly states the evidence sources used in compiling the information |
8 |
47 |
| Information quoted is in line with the most up-to-date clinical evidence |
8 |
47 |
|
| Where mentioned, prevalence estimates give an accurate impression of how common/rare the condition is |
1 |
6 |
|
| Personal opinion and/or advertising are clearly distinguished from evidence-based information |
5 |
29 |
|
|
Help patients to make appropriate decisions |
|
|
|
| |
Acknowledges (explicitly or implicitly) that the patient has decisions to make |
8 |
47 |
| Helps patients to imagine what it is like to live with the condition and/or treatment effects |
4 |
24 |
|
| Asks patients to consider factors (e.g. priorities, motivations, treatment outcomes) affecting possible courses of action |
2 |
12 |
|
| Suggests ways and/or provides tools to help patients make decisions |
1 |
6 |
|
|
Disclose conflicts of interest? |
|
|
|
| |
Includes authors’ / developers’ credentials or qualifications |
9 |
53 |
| Reports source of funding for development and distribution |
6 |
35 |
|
|
Have a clear structure and layout? |
|
|
|
| |
Is consistent in design and layout throughout |
17 |
100 |
| Includes aids to finding information (e.g. contents, index, site map, or search facility) |
5 |
29 |
|
| Important points are emphasised through the use of summaries and/or bullet points |
10 |
59 |
|
| Illustrates information with diagrams and/or pictures |
7 |
41 |
|
| Where diagrams appear, they are labelled and relate to the subject matter |
5 |
29 |
|
| Sections are clearly separated |
14 |
82 |
|
|
Help the reader judge its reliability |
|
|
|
| |
Reports date of publication |
10 |
59 |
| Includes sources of further information |
7 |
41 |
|
|
Information content total: median (IQR), min/max |
13 (6.5), 5/23 |
||
| Readability (Fog Index): median (IQR), min/max | 10.0 (2.9), 7.5/15.9 | ||