Evaluation of the readability of consent forms used in cardiovascular surgery clinics

Abstract

Aims: The readability of the informed consent forms, which are a power of attorney agreement between the physician and the patient, is very important especially in clinics where high-risk procedures such as cardiovascular surgery are performed. In this study, we aimed to determine the readability levels of consent forms, which are frequently used in cardiovascular surgery clinics, according to accepted scales. Methods: The readability level of the 15 patient consent forms recommended by the Turkish Society of Cardiovascular Surgery to its members; word counts, syllable counts, letter and character counts were calculated using Ateşman and Bezirci-Yılmaz formulas. Results: Consent forms included in the study were found to be readable at the 11-12th grade level according to the Ateşman scale and at the high school level in the Bezirci-Yılmaz scale. These texts have also been studied at international scales and it has been determined that they are at the level of readability that requires undergraduate education. Conclusion: Research and data from the Turkish Statistical Institute show that the average year of schooling in our country is 6.5, and the ratio of high school graduates or equivalent to the entire population is 22.3%. We advocate simplifying the informed consent forms recommended by the Turkish Society of Cardiovascular Surgery, from the level that requires high school education to the 6-year education level, which is the average schooling year in Turkey.