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. 2009 Sep;18(7):889-900.
doi: 10.1007/s11136-009-9506-y. Epub 2009 Jul 10.

Readability estimates for commonly used health-related quality of life surveys

Sylvia H Paz  1 , Honghu Liu, Marie N Fongwa, Leo S Morales, Ron D Hays
Affiliations

Readability estimates for commonly used health-related quality of life surveys

Sylvia H Paz et al. Qual Life Res. 2009 Sep.

Abstract

Purpose: To estimate readability of seven commonly used health-related quality of life instruments: SF-36, HUI, EQ-5D, QWB-SA, HALex, Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (MLHFQ), and the NEI-VFQ-25.

Methods: The Flesch-Kincaid (F-K) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulae were used to estimate readability for every item in each measure.

Results: The percentage of items that require more than 5 years of formal schooling according to F-K was 50 for the EQ-5D, 53 for the SF-36, 80 for the VFQ-25, 85 for the QWB-SA, 100 for the HUI, HALex, and the MLHFQ. The percentage of items deemed harder than "easy" according to FRE was 50 for the SF-36, 67 for the EQ-5D, 79 for the QWB-SA, 80 for the VFQ-25, 100 for the HUI, HALex, and the MLHFQ.

Conclusions: All seven surveys have a substantial number of items with high readability levels that may not be appropriate for the general population.

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Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
SF-36
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HUI
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Fig. 3
EQ-5D
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Fig. 4
QWB-SA
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Fig. 5
HALex
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Fig. 6
Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
VFQ-25
Fig. 8
Fig. 8
VFQ-25*
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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