The readability of currently used surgical/procedure consent forms in the United States
SurgeryPublished 1 May 1998
Kenneth D. Hopper, Thomas R. TenHave, Danielle A. Tully, Tanya E.L. Hall
Citations81
SJR quartileQ1
SJR score1.09
SNIP1.16
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TL;DR
The majority of surgical/procedural informed consent forms currently used by U.S. hospitals are complex and are not easily understood by the average patient.
Abstract
The majority of surgical/procedural informed consent forms currently used by U.S. hospitals are complex and are not easily understood by the average patient. In addition, the majority of reviewed consent forms do not list specific benefits or potential complications of the planned surgery/procedure.
Keywords
PsychologyMedicineHealth Professions
New England Journal of MedicineInformed (but Uneducated) Consent
210 Citations1972Franz J. Ingelfinger
New England Journal of MedicineOn the Readability of Surgical Consent Forms
176 Citations1980T. M. Grundner
It is suggested that few consent forms currently in use could pass readability tests, and that thousands of persons may be undergoing surgery each year on the basis of inadequate consent.
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A consent to treatment form provides required information that a patient may use to give intelligent, informed consent to proposed treatment, and was found slightly less difficult to comprehend than medical journals but substantially more difficult than comparable materials from the popular press.
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Readability analyses were conducted on a large sample of pediatric biomedical informed consent forms obtained during a 10-year period from a large midwestern children's hospital, finding that the purpose of the informed consent form is being compromised, in part, by a readability factor.
PubMedConsent forms: how to determine and improve their readability.
119 Citations1993C D Meade, D M Howser
A number of strategies that nurses can use to enhance comprehension of the information contained in informed consent documents are suggested.
The American Journal of the Medical SciencesInstitutional Review Board (IRB) Review Lacks Impact on the Readability of Consent Forms for Research
81 Citations1992Dale E. Hammerschmidt, Moira A. Keane
To test whether consent forms in research are inherently comprehensible to the subjects, 65 new applications were randomly selected from 13 consecutive IRB agendas, and their consent documents were computer-analyzed (Flesch/Fry scoring) after correction for expected confounding features.
American Journal of RoentgenologyInformed consent forms for clinical and research imaging procedures: how much do patients understand?
72 Citations1995K D Hopper, Thomas R. TenHave +1 more
Most consent forms used in radiology practice are too complex for the average patient to understand, especially the generic surgical or procedure consent forms.
RadiologyReadability of informed consent forms for use with iodinated contrast media.
34 Citations1993K D Hopper, H A Lambe +1 more
Informed consent forms used before intravenous administration of contrast media by both private practice (Pennsylvania Blue Shield) and academic (Association of University Radiologists) physician groups were analyzed to evaluate for readability and content.
Journal of Vascular and Interventional RadiologyDevelopment of a Model Angiography Informed Consent Form Based on a Multiinstitutional Survey of Current Forms
6 Citations1995John Briguglio, John F. Cardella +3 more
An angiography consent form has been developed that can be understood with an eight-grade level of education and should allow patients to more easily understand the procedure and its risks, benefits, and alternatives.
