Evaluation of health literacy and the readability of information leaflets

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The proper use of information leaflets for medications depends, among other factors, on its readability and on users' literacy, i.e. the ability to clearly identify letters, words and sentences and the ability to understand and use that information. The study purpose was to investigate the possible relationship between a measure of functional health literacy and the readability of a leaflet for a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medicine, the later assessed by the appropriate European guideline. In a sample of 53 urban participants, recruited in 2010 from a pharmacy in Lisboa (Portugal) and with varying literacy, statistical analysis found no relationship between the level of literacy and the various parameters to assess the quality and readability of an information leaflet.