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. 2009;35(7):653-668.
doi: 10.1080/03601270902885504.

Comprehension of Health-related Written Materials by Older Adults

Chiung-Ju Liu  1 , Susan Kemper, James A Bovaird
Affiliations

Comprehension of Health-related Written Materials by Older Adults

Chiung-Ju Liu et al. Educ Gerontol. 2009.

Abstract

This study examined how Flesch Reading Ease and text cohesion affect older adults' comprehension of common health texts. All older adults benefited when high Flesh Reading Ease was combined with high cohesion. Older adults with small working memories had more difficulty understanding texts high in Flesch Reading Ease. Additionally, older adults with low verbal ability or older than 77 years of age had difficulty understanding texts high in text cohesion but low in Flesch Reading Ease. These results imply that writers must increase Flesch Reading Ease without disrupting text cohesion to ensure comprehension of health-related texts.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The 2-Way Interaction of Flesch Reading Ease and Working Memory on Comprehension.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The 3-Way Interaction of Verbal Ability, Flesch Reading Ease, and Text Cohesion on Comprehension.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The 3-Way Interaction of Age, Flesch Reading Ease, and Text Cohesion on Comprehension.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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