Readability Challenges in Ophthalmology Consent Forms: A Comprehensive Assessment Using the Ateşman Formula

İrfan Uzun

Makale detayları

Readability Challenges in Ophthalmology Consent Forms: A Comprehensive Assessment Using the Ateşman Formula

Yazarlar:

İrfan Uzun

Yayıncı:

Eskişehir Osmangazi University

Ana Başlıklar:

Sağlığın Geliştirilmesi

Dergi:

Osmangazi Tıp Dergisi Vol.47 Issue 6, pp.1048-1056

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

9/2025

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001350918

pISSN:

1305-4953

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the linguistic and structural complexity of 45 informed consent forms published by the Turkish Ophthalmological Association. The Ateşman readability formula developed for Turkish was used to determine the readability level of the texts. In addition, linguistic metrics such as word count, syllable count, sentence count, character count, average word count per sentence, average syllable count per word, and medical term ratio were calculated. The results of the analysis revealed that the consent forms generally had low readability levels. The scores obtained according to the Ateşman readability formula ranged from 24.12 to 53.7, indicating that most of the texts were in the difficult 30-49 points or very difficult 0-29 points readability categories. This suggests that the forms generally require a high school, undergraduate or higher academicspecialized level of education to be understood. Linguistic factors contributing to low readability were identified. The density of medical terms in the forms was found to be high, ranging from 4.82 to 16.8. The average number of words per sentence in the analyzed forms ranged from 13.88 to 26.83, well above the average of 9-10 words recommended for standard Turkish texts. The average number of syllables per word ranged from 2.67 to 3.19, higher than the 2.6-2.8 syllables considered typical for Turkish, reflecting the dominance of technical and medical vocabulary. In conclusion, informed consent forms are difficult or very difficult texts for the general readership due to their high density of medical terms and complex sentence structures.

 This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the linguistic and structural complexity of 45 informed consent forms published by the Turkish Ophthalmological Association. The Ateşman readability formula developed for Turkish was used to determine the readability level of the texts. In addition, linguistic metrics such as word count, syllable count, sentence count, character count, average word count per sentence, average syllable count per word, and medical term ratio were calculated. The results of the analysis revealed that the consent forms generally had low readability levels. The scores obtained according to the Ateşman readability formula ranged from 24.12 to 53.7, indicating that most of the texts were in the difficult 30-49 points or very difficult 0-29 points readability categories. This suggests that the forms generally require a high school, undergraduate or higher academicspecialized level of education to be understood. Linguistic factors contributing to low readability were identified. The density of medical terms in the forms was found to be high, ranging from 4.82 to 16.8. The average number of words per sentence in the analyzed forms ranged from 13.88 to 26.83, well above the average of 9-10 words recommended for standard Turkish texts. The average number of syllables per word ranged from 2.67 to 3.19, higher than the 2.6-2.8 syllables considered typical for Turkish, reflecting the dominance of technical and medical vocabulary. In conclusion, informed consent forms are difficult or very difficult texts for the general readership due to their high density of medical terms and complex sentence structures.

 This study aims to comprehensively evaluate the linguistic and structural complexity of 45 informed consent forms published by the Turkish Ophthalmological Association. The Ateşman readability formula developed for Turkish was used to determine the readability level of the texts. In addition, linguistic metrics such as word count, syllable count, sentence count, character count, average word count per sentence, average syllable count per word, and medical term ratio were calculated. The results of the analysis revealed that the consent forms generally had low readability levels. The scores obtained according to the Ateşman readability formula ranged from 24.12 to 53.7, indicating that most of the texts were in the difficult 30-49 points or very difficult 0-29 points readability categories. This suggests that the forms generally require a high school, undergraduate or higher academicspecialized level of education to be understood. Linguistic factors contributing to low readability were identified. The density of medical terms in the forms was found to be high, ranging from 4.82 to 16.8. The average number of words per sentence in the analyzed forms ranged from 13.88 to 26.83, well above the average of 9-10 words recommended for standard Turkish texts. The average number of syllables per word ranged from 2.67 to 3.19, higher than the 2.6-2.8 syllables considered typical for Turkish, reflecting the dominance of technical and medical vocabulary. In conclusion, informed consent forms are difficult or very difficult texts for the general readership due to their high density of medical terms and complex sentence structures.

 Bu çalışmanın amacı, Türk Oftalmoloji Derneği tarafından yayınlanan 45 bilgilendirilmiş gönüllü onam formunun dilsel ve yapısal karmaşıklığını kapsamlı bir şekilde değerlendirmektir. Metinlerin okunabilirlik düzeyini belirlemek için Türkçe için geliştirilen Ateşman okunabilirlik formülü kullanılmıştır. Ayrıca kelime sayısı, hece sayısı, cümle sayısı, karakter sayısı, cümle başına ortalama kelime sayısı, kelime başına ortalama hece sayısı ve tıbbi terim oranı gibi dilbilimsel ölçütler hesaplanmıştır. Analiz sonuçları, onay formlarının genel olarak düşük okunabilirlik seviyesine sahip olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Ateşman okunabilirlik formülüne göre elde edilen puanlar 24.12 ile 53.7 arasında değişmekte olup, metinlerin çoğunun zor 30-49 puan veya çok zor 0-29 puan okunabilirlik kategorilerinde yer aldığını göstermektedir. Bu durum, formların anlaşılabilmesi için genellikle lise, lisans veya daha yüksek akademikuzmanlık bir eğitim düzeyi gerektirdiğini göstermektedir. Düşük okunabilirliğe katkıda bulunan dilsel faktörler tespit edilmiştir. Formlardaki tıbbi terimlerin yoğunluğu 4.82 ile 16.8 arasında değişen oranlarda yüksek bulunmuştur. İncelenen formlarda cümle başına düşen ortalama kelime sayısı 13.88 ile 26.83 arasında değişmekte olup standart Türkçe metinler için önerilen 9-10 kelime ortalamasının oldukça üzerindedir. Kelime başına ortalama hece sayısı 2.67 ile 3.19 arasında değişmekte olup, Türkçe için tipik kabul edilen 2.6-2.8 heceden daha yüksektir ve teknik ve tıbbi kelimelerin baskınlığını yansıtmaktadır. Sonuç olarak, bilgilendirilmiş onam formları, içerdikleri yüksek tıbbi terim yoğunluğu ve karmaşık cümle yapıları nedeniyle genel okuyucu kitlesi için zor veya çok zor metinlerdir.

Makale detayları

Readability Challenges in Ophthalmology Consent Forms: A Comprehensive Assessment Using the Ateşman Formula

Yazarlar:

İrfan Uzun

Yayıncı:

Eskişehir Osmangazi University

Ana Başlıklar:

Sağlığın Geliştirilmesi

Dergi:

Osmangazi Tıp Dergisi Vol.47 Issue 6, pp.1048-1056

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

9/2025

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001350918

pISSN:

1305-4953

Informed consent

Readability

Ophthalmology

Ateşman readability formula

Medical terminologyBilgilendirilmiş onam

Okunabilirlik

Oftalmoloji

Ateşman okunabilirlik formülü

Tıbbi terminoloji.

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: İrfan Uzun

Yayıncı: Eskişehir Osmangazi University

Ana Başlıklar: Sağlığın Geliştirilmesi

Dergi: Osmangazi Tıp Dergisi Vol.47 Issue 6, pp.1048-1056

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 9/2025

Belge Dili: İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.): 2001350918

pISSN: 1305-4953

Sayı

Yazarlar:

İrfan Uzun

Yayıncı:

Eskişehir Osmangazi University

Ana Başlıklar:

Sağlığın Geliştirilmesi

Dergi:

Osmangazi Tıp Dergisi Vol.47 Issue 6, pp.1048-1056

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

9/2025

Belge Dili:

İngilizce

Document ID (Org No.):

2001350918

pISSN:

1305-4953