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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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| Typeface legibility of patient information leaflets intended for community-dwelling seniors | | Author(s) | Adriana Chubaty, Cheryl A Sadowski, Anita G Carrie |
| Journal title | Age and Ageing, vol 38, no 4, July 2009 |
| Pages | pp 441-447 |
| Source | http://www.ageing.oxfordjournals.org |
| Keywords | Patients ; Information needs ; Publications ; Design ; Evaluation ; Canada. |
| Annotation | There are guidelines available from a number of countries and organisations regarding the design of written information, as appropriate design is essential for effective communication. The design of leaflets should be evaluated, as written information that does not adhere to guidelines may not be effective for older people. This cross-sectional study used current typeface guidelines to describe the design of health information leaflets, in this instance leaflets from pharmacies and seniors' clinics in Edmonton, Canada. Health information leaflets and information sheets on hydrochlorthiazide (a diuretic) were collected. The body of each was evaluated, based on guidelines (from Canada, UK and USA). Adherence to recommendations was assessed descriptively. A total of 388 unique leaflets and 10 hydrochlorthiazide sheets were collected from 21 pharmacies and 3 clinics. Most leaflets were produced by pharmaceutical companies (42.8%) and contained disease information (43.8%). Only one-third of all leaflets used the minimum recommended point size (12 point), 18.6% followed American guidelines for line spacing (1.5 lines), but 77.1% had appropriate contrast. Although guidelines are available, most leaflets did not meet recommendations. Improvements in leaflet design should be considered to assist older people in their uptake of information. (KJ/RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-090728212 A |
| Classmark | LF: UV:IK: UE: 33: 4C: 7S |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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