Aim:
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the readability levels of informed consent forms (ICFs) used for procedures in the emergency services of state and university hospitals by comparing through readability formulas.
Materials and Methods:
ICFs used in emergency medicine clinics in different university and state hospitals in Turkey were collected, and forms that were the same were included in the evaluation only once. A total of 32 ICFs, with 15 from university hospitals and 17 from state hospitals, were evaluated. Average word number, syllable number, and words with syllable number of four and above were calculated. Different formulas were used to determine readability levels.
Results:
Although the readability of ICFs used in university hospitals was found to be better than those in state hospitals, the readability levels of the ICFs for both groups were detected to have medium difficulty according to the Atesman formula, very difficult according to the Flesch-Kincaid formula, difficult according to the Gunning-Fog formula, and at high school level according to the Bezirci-Yilmaz formula.
Conclusion:
In conclusion, the readability rates of emergency procedure ICFs in both state hospitals and university hospitals were detected to be rather low according to the present study. The education level of our country and the local environment should be considered while preparing these ICFs.
Keywords: Emergency medicine, informed consent form, readability, understandability