The readability of paediatric patient information materials: Are families satisfied with our handouts and brochures?

Objectives: To determine the grade reading level of eight easily available patient handouts for parents of children with otitis media, to calculate the internal reliability and consistency of seven readability tests, and to explore the relationship between the grade reading level of a handout and parent satisfaction.

Methods: Eight patient handouts developed for the parents of children with otitis media were collected, stripped of all formatting and analyzed using seven different readability formulas. Cronbach's alpha and intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were calculated to determine the internal reliability and consistency of the seven formulas.