Research has shown that many patients find it difficult to understand and retain information that is conveyed verbally by medical professionals. One solution to this problem is to give patients this information in a written form so that it can be reviewed when needed to maximize retention and understanding. When implementing this solution, care should be taken that the patient education materials (PEMs) are written in a way that is easily understood by the patient. PEMs should also be of good quality, meaning that they are comprehensive, without bias, evidence based, relevant, and balanced. Well written PEMs are especially important within the field of audiology as many patients find it particularly difficult to understand audiological and vestibular information. PEMs related to many different diagnoses and treatment within the field of audiology have been evaluated to ensure that they are appropriate for patients, but this evaluation has not yet been done for PEMs pertaining to benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV). BPPV is a common cause of dizziness where episodes are triggered by head movements such as tipping the head back. For this study, 11 PEMs pertaining to BPPV were gathered from professional organizations online and 3 were gathered from audiology clinics local to East Tennessee. Reading grade level was determined using the Fry Method and the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG). Quality was determined using the DISCERN. The results of this study indicate that the current PEMs related to BPPV are not written at an appropriate reading level for patients as determined by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). The conclusion of this study is that while some of the PEMs analyzed were found to be of good quality, many can and should be improved. Organizations such as the CDC and AHRQ have created materials to guide medical professionals through the process of improving their PEMs.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ETSU/oai:dc.etsu.edu:asrf-1931 |
| Date | 07 April 2022 |
| Creators | Johnson, Haley |
| Publisher | Digital Commons @ East Tennessee State University |
| Source Sets | East Tennessee State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text |
| Source | Appalachian Student Research Forum & Jay S. Boland Undergraduate Research Symposium |
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