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      An analysis of the readability characteristics of oral health information literature available to the public in Tasmania, Australia

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          Abstract

          Background

          The effectiveness of print-based health promotion materials is dependent on their readability. This study aimed to assess the characteristics of print-based oral health information literature publically available in Tasmania, Australia.

          Methods

          Oral health education brochures were collected from 11 dental clinics across Tasmania and assessed for structure and format, content and readability. Reading level was calculated using three widely-used measures: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Flesch Reading Ease, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) reading grade level.

          Results

          The FKGL of the 67 brochures sampled ranged from grade 3 to 13. The grade level for government health department brochures ( n = 14) ranged from grade 4 to 11 (5.6 ± 1.8). Reading levels for materials produced by commercial sources ( n = 22) ranged from 3 to 13 (8.3 ± 2.1), those from professional associations ( n = 22) ranged from grade 7 to 11 (8.9 ± 0.9) and brochures produced by other sources ( n = 9) ranged from 5 to 10 (7.6 ± 1.5). The SMOG test was positively correlated with the FKGL (r s = 0.92, p < 0.001) though consistently rated materials 2-3 grades higher. The reading level required to comprehend brochures published by government sources were, on average, lower than those from commercial, professional and other sources. Government materials were also more likely to contain fewer words and professional jargon terms than brochures from the other sources.

          Conclusion

          A range of oral health information brochures were publically available for patients in both public and private dental clinics. However, their readability characteristics differed. Many brochures required a reading skill level higher than that suited to a large proportion of the Tasmanian population. Readability and other characteristics of oral health education materials should be assessed to ensure their suitability for use with patients, especially those suspected of having low literacy skills.

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          Most cited references20

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          Derivation of New Readability Formulas (Automated Readability Index, Fog Count and Flesch Reading Ease Formula) for Navy Enlisted Personnel

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            Health Literacy: A Prescription to End Confusion.

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              Is Open Access

              A Systematic Review of Socioeconomic Indicators and Dental Caries in Adults

              Increasing evidence suggests that socioeconomic factors may be associated with an increased risk of dental caries. To provide better evidence of the association between dental caries in adults and socioeconomic indicators, we evaluated the relation between these two conditions in a thorough review of the literature. Seven databases were systematically searched: Pubmed, Cochrane, Web of Science, Bireme, Controlled Trials, Clinical Trials and the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. No restrictions were placed on the language or year of publication. The search yielded 41 studies for systematic review. Two independent reviewers screened the studies for inclusion, extracted data and evaluated quality using the Newcastle-Ottawa scale. The following socioeconomic indicators were found: educational level, income, occupation, socio-economic status and the community index. These indicators were significantly associated with a greater occurrence of dental caries: the subject’s education, subject’s income, subject’s occupation and the Gini coefficient. A high degree of heterogeneity was found among the methods. Quality varied across studies. The criteria employed for socioeconomic indicators and dental caries should be standardized in future studies. The scientific evidence reveals that educational level, income, occupation and the Gini coefficient are associated with dental caries.
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                Author and article information

                Contributors
                613 6324 4011 , Tony.barnett@utas.edu.au
                Thi.Hoang@utas.edu.au
                ashlea.furlan@ths.tas.gov.au
                Journal
                BMC Oral Health
                BMC Oral Health
                BMC Oral Health
                BioMed Central (London )
                1472-6831
                17 March 2016
                17 March 2016
                2016
                : 16
                : 35
                Affiliations
                [ ]Centre for Rural Health, University of Tasmania, Locked Bag 1322, Launceston, TAS 7250 Australia
                [ ]Northern Dental Centre, Oral Health Services Tasmania, 2 Kelham St, Launceston, TAS 7250 Australia
                Article
                196
                10.1186/s12903-016-0196-x
                4794850
                26984514
                3d02f1d9-1b6e-40ec-9c9c-4731e35eafe7
                © Barnett et al. 2016

                Open AccessThis article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver ( http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated.

                History
                : 24 September 2015
                : 11 March 2016
                Categories
                Research Article
                Custom metadata
                © The Author(s) 2016

                Dentistry
                oral health,health education and promotion materials,dental,health literacy,readability
                Dentistry
                oral health, health education and promotion materials, dental, health literacy, readability

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