The Cloze Procedure and Readability of Patient-Oriented Drug Information

The purpose of this study was to determine 1) the readability of a patient package insert (PPI), and 2) the effect of age and schooling on the cloze test scores. The subjects (N = 75) consisted of female patients visiting family planning clinics in two midwestern communities. Each subject completed a 50-item cloze test. Raw cloze scores were converted to percentage of correct completions. Personal data supplied by each subject consisted of age and years of schooling. The mean cloze score for the PPI was 46.85 percent (instructional level) with no significant difference between the two communities. Forty percent of the subjects tested at the frustrational level, 33 percent at the instructional level, and only 27 percent at the independent level. Three out of four patients will need assistance in comprehending information in the PPI. Age and schooling had a significant ( p = .01) effect on the cloze test scores.