Readability and Health Communication: An Analysis of the Readability of Commonly Used Malaria Drugs Information Leaflets in Cape Coast, Ghana.

Abstract

This study conducted in-depth analysis of the readability of commonly used malaria medicine information leaflets in Cape Coast, Ghana. Seven leaflets of malaria medicines that are very popular in Cape Coast, Ghana were analyzed using the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease and Gunning Fog readability indexes. These leaflets were also examined based on the legibility of print, type of paper and bilingual information. Data collected from the two indexes revealed that all the leaflets are very difficult to read. Values ranged from 10.4 to 38 for the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease indicating that the leaflets are very difficult to comprehend and that one needs university education to comprehend them.14.2 to 18.8 were recorded for the Gunning Fog index also indicating that the leaflets are very difficult and that in some cases are even not readable for people with university education. The mean value for the readability consensus for the two readability indexes was 21.04. The implication is that in terms of the Gunning Fog index, the leaflets are very difficult to comprehend and that they were written far above the reading comprehension level for university graduates. Also, in the case of the flesch reading ease regarding the readability consensus of the two indexes, the leaflets are very difficult to comprehend in terms of level of reading difficulty but match the appropriate reading level of the university graduate. The findings of the study also revealed that 5 leaflets (71.4%) had a font type size <10 and none (0%) was produced in any of the major languages in Ghana apart from English and French. Conclusively, the study discovered that malaria medicine information leaflets available in drug stores and hospitals in Cape Coast, Ghana are not readable to the majority of the population. The significance of rendering the valuable information contained in those leaflets comprehensible to consumers is life and death matter. Hence, pharmaceutical companies in Ghana are encouraged by the researcher to produce readable medicine information leaflets so that their intended purpose can be achieved.