Evaluation intelligibility of urology consent forms

Abstract

Objective: In this study, we investigated the understanding of the consent forms used for invasive procedures in the urology clinic by the patients. It was evaluated which age and education groups could comprehend the consent forms used in our clinic.Material and Methods: In this investigation, we employed two intelligibility formulas proposed by Ateşman and Bezirci-Ylmaz for Turkish. In the study, 69 separate consent forms were evaluated.Results: An average of 62.02 points was obtained in the study after evaluating the consent forms using the Ateşman intelligibility index. This value indicates that a person with a 9 and 10th education level will be able to comprehend the text. The Bezirci-Yılmaz index yielded an average of 11.13 points when the same forms were analyzed. This value indicates that consent forms can be understood by those with a 10 and 11th grade education grade.Conclusion: In our study, it was found that the informed consent forms given to the patients before the operation were insufficient to be understood by the patients. Similar findings were obtained in previous studies in the literature. Each country’s own health literacy and education level should be taken into account when creating informed consent forms.