Readability and understandability of andrology questionnaires

Özet

Objective: Medical questionnaires, which enable collection, comparison and analysis of appropriate data asa means of written communication between a patient and a doctor, must be easily readable, and understandable. Here, we measure the readability and understandability of questionnaires used in andrology and examine the relationship between the educational status of the patients and the understandability of the forms.Material and methods: Seven questionnaires (SHIM, AIPE, IIEF, MSHQ-EjD, PEDT, NIH-CPSI andIPSS) used to diagnose andological diseases were selected from the European Association of Urologyguidelines. The number of syllables per word, the number of words in a sentence, and the average word andsentence lengths were calculated for each Turkish validated form. Readability scores were calculated, andcloset tests were used to measure the understandability of the texts.Results: Three hundred and twenty-seven male volunteers participated in the study. Two hundred and sixteenof the participants (66%) had a high school or college education. The readability level of the seven forms wasdetermined to be ''Difficult'' or ''Very Difficult,'' and at least a high school education level was required tounderstand the forms. As education level and monthly income increased, the understandability of the formsincreased; as the readability of the forms became more difficult, their understandability decreased (p<0.001).Conclusion: The readability levels of questionnaires used in andrology are well above the reading level ofTurkey. Health providers can help patients to fill out forms to increase doctor-patient communication.