Published online May 1, 2006
PEDIATRICS Vol. 117 No. 5 May 2006, pp. S320-S325 (doi:10.1542/peds.2005-2633L)
This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow P3Rs: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when P3Rs are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow E-mail this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My File Cabinet
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via CrossRef
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Arnold, C. L.
Right arrow Articles by Lloyd-Puryear, M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Arnold, C. L.
Right arrow Articles by Lloyd-Puryear, M.
Related Collections
Right arrow Premature & Newborn

SUPPLEMENT ARTICLE

Assessment of Newborn Screening Parent Education Materials

Connie L. Arnold, PhDa, Terry C. Davis, PhDa, Janet Ohene Frempong, MSb, Sharon G. Humiston, MD, MPHc, Anna Bocchini, BAa, Estela M. Kennen, MAa and Michele Lloyd-Puryear, MD, PhDd

a Departments of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics and the Feist-Weiller Cancer Center, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center-Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana
b J. O. Frempong and Associates, Elkins Park, Pennsylvania
c Departments of Emergency Medicine and Pediatrics, University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry, Rochester, New York
d Health Resources and Services Administration, Rockville, Maryland

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to measure the readability and user-friendliness (clarity, complexity, organization, appearance, and cultural appropriateness of materials) of parent education brochures on newborn screening.

METHODS. We studied English-language versions of the brochures that state newborn screening programs prepare and distribute. We obtained brochures from 48 states and Puerto Rico. We evaluated each brochure for readability with the Flesch reading ease formula. User-friendliness of the brochures was assessed with an instrument we created that contained 22 specific criteria grouped into 5 categories, ie, layout, illustrations, message, manageable information, and cultural appropriateness.

RESULTS. Most current newborn screening brochures should be revised to make them more readable and user-friendly for parents. Ninety-two percent of brochures were written at a reading level that is higher than the average reading level of US adults (eighth-grade level). In most brochures, the essential information for parents was buried. Although all brochures were brief and focused on the newborn screening tests being performed, 81% needed improvement in getting to the point quickly and making it easy for parents to identify what they needed to know or to do. None of the brochures scored high in all 22 criteria on the user-friendliness checklist.

CONCLUSIONS. Parent education materials about newborn screening should be revised to be easier to read and more user-friendly, by lowering the reading difficulty to eighth-grade level and focusing on issues such as layout, illustrations, message, information, and cultural appropriateness. It is important that state newborn screening programs and organizations work with parents to develop and to evaluate materials to ensure that they are user-friendly.

Key Words: newborn screening • readability • suitability • user-friendliness

Abbreviations: FRE—Flesch reading ease

Accepted Dec 27, 2005.




This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 PediatricsHome page
D. B. Bailey Jr, D. Skinner, A. M. Davis, I. Whitmarsh, and C. Powell
Ethical, Legal, and Social Concerns About Expanded Newborn Screening: Fragile X Syndrome as a Prototype for Emerging Issues
Pediatrics, March 1, 2008; 121(3): e693 - e704.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Am J Health Syst PharmHome page
S. E. Roskos, L. S. Wallace, and B. D. Weiss
Readability of consumer medication information for intranasal corticosteroid inhalers
Am. J. Health Syst. Pharm., January 1, 2008; 65(1): 65 - 68.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]