Readability of HIV/AIDS Information Manuals in Ghana

Abstract

This paper examined the readability of some medical information documents for HIV/AIDS patients in Ghana. The SMOG readability formula was used to determine the reading levels of the documents which were obtained through convenience sampling technique. One sample Ttest was used to determine whether there were statistically significant differences in the readability of the sampled HIV/AIDS literature compared to a standard 8th grade recommended for public documents. The bootstrapping technique was employed in this evaluation to ensure robust estimates of significant or p-value, standard errors and the confident intervals. The study revealed that the leaflets were generally difficult to comprehend when compared to the standard readability score of public reading materials. The study concluded that it is prudent such documents are written in plane language in order that the target readers would benefit from the information carried by these documents.

Key Words: readability, healthcare, HIV/AIDS, SMOG, patients, leaflets