Table 1.

The items on the PEMAT

Domain: Understandability
Topic: Content
Item 1: The material makes its purpose completely evident (P and A/V)
Item 2: The material does not include information or content that distracts from its purpose (P)
Topic: Word Choice & Style
Item 3: The material uses common, everyday language (P and A/V)
Item 4: Medical terms are used only to familiarize audience with the terms. When used, medical terms are defined (P and A/V)
Item 5: The material uses the active voice (P and A/V)
Topic: Use of Numbers
Item 6: Numbers appearing in the material are clear and easy to understand (P)
Item 7: The material does not expect the user to perform calculations (P)
Topic: Organization
Item 8: The material breaks or “chunks” information into short sections (P and A/V)
Item 9: The material’s sections have informative headers (P and A/V)
Item 10: The material presents information in a logical sequence (P and A/V)
Item 11: The material provides a summary (P and A/V)
Topic: Layout & Design
Item 12: The material uses visual cues (e.g., arrows, boxes, bullets, bold, larger font, highlighting) to draw attention to key points (P and A/V)
Item 13: Text on the screen is easy to read (A/V)
Item 14: The material allows the user to hear the words clearly (e.g., not too fast, not garbled) (A/V)
Topic: Use of Visual Aids
Item 15: The material uses visual aids whenever they could make content more easily understood (e.g., illustration of healthy portion size) (P)
Item 16: The material’s visual aids reinforce rather than distract from the content (P)
Item 17: The material’s visual aids have clear titles or captions (P)
Item 18: The material uses illustrations and photographs that are clear and uncluttered (P and A/V)
Item 19: The material uses simple tables with short and clear row and column headings (P and A/V)
Domain: Actionability
Item 20: The material clearly identifies at least one action the user can take (P and A/V)
Item 21: The material addresses the user directly when describing actions (P and A/V)
Item 22: The material breaks down any action into manageable, explicit steps (P and A/V)
Item 23: The material provides a tangible tool (e.g., menu planners, checklists) whenever it could help the user take action (P)
Item 24: The material provides simple instructions or examples of how to perform calculations (P)
Item 25: The material explains how to use the charts, graphs, tables, or diagrams to take actions (P and A/V)
Item 26: The material uses visual aids whenever they could make it easier to act on the instructions (P)