Research Information System
12th ESLA Congress, Bruges, Belgium, 26 - 28 September 2024, pp.12, (Summary Text)
Background: The World Health Organisation defines health as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease." According to this definition, enhancing both the quantity and quality of life hold significance. Therefore, both general and disease-specific quality of life surveys are widely used in speech and language therapy, as in other areas of health. Ensuring these questionnaires are easily comprehensible by respondents is necessary. Readability, influenced by various factors, constitutes a fundamental aspect of text comprehension.
Aims: This study aims to assess the readability of commonly used Turkish quality of life questionnaires among speech and language therapists.
Methods: We identified quality-of-life questionnaires suitable for speech and language therapy via Google Scholar and the Turkish National Thesis Center. While determining the scales, searches were carried out using frequently used terms in the speech and language subfields and the term quality-of-life together. The content of the questionnaire was transferred to a.txt file. We subsequently obtained readability scores and text-based quantitative features by copying the content into software that calculates Turkish readability values(Ateşman and Bezirci-Yılmaz readability values).
Results: Sixteen self-assessment tools evaluating general health were reviewed. The mean Ateşman readability score of the examined scales is 73.83. No statistically significant correlation was found between the text-based features of the scales and readability scores (p >0,05).
Conclusions: The findings suggest that the readability of 11 Turkish quality-of-life scales examined exceeds the recommended reading level for health materials. It is known that comprehension increases when texts have an easy reading level. Clinical questionnaire applications and result interpretations presuppose respondents' comprehension of questionnaire items. Consequently, evaluating readability assumes increasing importance. To enhance the accuracy of information derived from quality of life questionnaires, it is advisable to consider readability in questionnaire development endeavors.
Keywords: Health-related quality of life, Readability, Health literacy