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Table 4 Compliance with best-practice recommendations for readability

From: Creating concise and readable patient information sheets for interventional studies in Australia: are we there yet?

Source of advice

Measure

Compliance (%)

NHMRC

Grade 8 readability level or below

1

Use of tables

40

Font size ≥ 11 points

94

ACSQH

Words/sentence < 20

45

Sentences/paragraph < 3

93

Limited passive voice use (< 10%)

100

Word choice checked (simple words in place of complex ones)a

3

Medical/scientific terms fully explained

21

Left justified text

39

Use of illustrations

15

  1. NHMRC National Health and Medical Research Council, ACSQH Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Healthcare
  2. aAssessed for the presence of seven root words with simpler alternatives recommended in government plain language guidance—‘additional’, ‘approximate’, ‘concerning’, ‘reimburse’, ‘require’, ‘retain’, and ‘subsequently’