ERIC Number: EJ1463204
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025
Pages: 15
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0965-4283
EISSN: EISSN-1758-714X
Available Date: 2025-02-03
Linguistic Difficulties of Health Educational Materials: A Sub-National-Level Assessment and Implications for Adolescent Health Literacy in Ghana
Jacqueline Nkrumah1,2; Aaron Asibi Abuosi2; Lily Yarney2; Anita Asiowome Adzo Baku2
Health Education, v125 n2 p155-169 2025
Purpose: The study aims to evaluate the readability, comprehensibility, and vocabulary knowledge of SRH educational materials available online and on paper to inform health educational material development for young adolescents. Design/methodology/approach: The study used a sequential mixed-method design. Thirty-four online and one print adolescent sexual and reproductive health educational materials were assessed for readability. Two hundred and sixty-three adolescents aged 11-15 participated in the comprehension and vocabulary knowledge assessment of the online sexual and reproductive health texts. Comprehensibility was measured using a cloze test, and vocabulary knowledge was assessed based on a vocabulary knowledge passage. Data processing was performed using SPSS, version 26.0 and the online readability consensus calculator, version 1.0. We analyzed the data using readability algorithms, cross-tabulation and bar charts. Findings: The results show higher readability levels for online SRH materials. Average Flesch reading ease scores range between 37.5% and 69.1%. Other average range indices were the Flesch Reading Grade Level (7-14), Gunning Fog Index (8.8-19), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (6.6-10.6) and Common-Lieu Index (7.5-11.5). Nearly 51% of participants in the comprehension assessment read at the instructional level. The Chi-square test for grade level differences shows a statistically significant (X2 = 11.349; p = 0.003) difference in comprehension between 7th and 8th graders. The participants also identified 29 words from the 1,048-word passage for assessing vocabulary knowledge as unfamiliar and difficult, and 14 as familiar but difficult to understand. Originality/value: The study's findings may inform the design of health educational materials and provide a basis for a national decision on the readability threshold of adolescent health information.
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Health Education, Instructional Materials, Academic Language, Sex Education, Adolescents, Information Literacy, Reading Comprehension, Readability, Vocabulary Skills, Early Adolescents
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Ghana
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Department of Health Administration and Education, University of Education Winneba, Winneba, Ghana; 2Department of Health Services Management, University of Ghana Business School, Accra, Ghana