Optimization of University Counseling Consent Forms With Large Language Models: Multidimensional Comparative Evaluation

Abstract

Background: Mental health problems among university students are a growing global concern, yet limited counseling resources and inadequate understanding of counseling procedures often delay timely help-seeking. Informed consent forms (ICFs) are essential for safeguarding autonomy and clarifying counseling procedures, but many universities’ counseling ICFs are incomplete, ambiguous, or overly technical. Large language models (LLMs) may offer scalable assistance for improving clarity and accessibility. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether LLM-based rewriting could improve the structure, readability, content quality, and comprehensibility of university counseling ICFs, and compared 2 advanced models (ChatGPT [GPT-5] and Grok-4). Methods: We conducted a comparative evaluation of counseling ICFs collected from 33 Chinese universities (original texts) and generated 2 rewritten versions for each ICF using ChatGPT (GPT-5) and Grok-4. A multidimensional framework assessed (1) textual structure and readability, (2) expert-rated content quality from a counselor perspective, and (3) volunteer-rated reading comprehension from a client perspective. Comparisons between original and rewritten texts were performed using Wilcoxon signed rank tests, with linear mixed-effects models used to validate results while accounting for rater variability. Results: Compared with the originals, both LLM-rewritten ICFs showed significant improvements across all evaluated dimensions. The mean Lee-Yang Readability Index decreased from 28.68 (SD 5.69) to 22.39 (SD 2.13) with ChatGPT (GPT-5) and 24.37 (SD 2.32) with Grok-4 (both P