title: The numeracy demands of health education information: an examination of numerical concepts in written diabetes materials.
abstract: The comprehension of numerical concepts that appear in written health educational materials is an important aspect of health literacy. Health materials that include many advanced numerical concepts may place high demands on readers, especially those with low health literacy levels. The purpose of this study was to examine and document the types of numerical concepts that appear in passages selected from written diabetes educational materials that varied in their type of content. Readability of the passages was also analyzed. One hundred and fifty passages of 100 words each were selected from 50 diabetes-related educational documents, produced by major health organizations. Passages were coded for type of numerical concept, SMOG Reading Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease, and features that elaborated the numerical concepts, such as pictures or explanations. Findings indicate that passages containing general information about diabetes and its prevention contained significantly more advanced numerical concepts, the highest reading grade level, the lowest reading ease scores, and the lowest frequency of elaborative features, relative to many other types of content. Recommendations are made for enhancing the presentation of numerical concepts in written diabetes educational materials.
authors.affiliation: Department of Educational Psychology, and Foundations, University of Northern Iowa, IA, USA. joram@uni.edu
authors.forename: Elana
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Joram
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roberts-Dobie
authors.forename: Sue J
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Mattison
authors.forename: Michele
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Devlin
authors.forename: Kristy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Herbrandson
authors.forename: Kim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hansen
authors.forename: Denise
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eslinger
mesh_terms: D032882:Comprehension; D054626:Consumer Health Information / Q000592:standards*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000523:psychology* / Q000534:rehabilitation; D004522:Educational Status; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D057220:Health Literacy; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000592:standards*; D013664:Teaching Materials / Q000592:standards*