Linguistic Complexity of Patient Information Leaflets: A Coh-Metrix Analysis

Abstract

The present study explored linguistic complexity of patient information leaflets based on the Coh-Metrix analytical tool. Using 100 patient information leaflets of seven common ailments in Ghana, the researcher analyzed the lexical and syntactical features of the leaflets to ascertain their linguistic complexity. The results revealed patient information leaflets are lexically dense except the leaflets for dewormer which were written at moderate level. Also, the study revealed that the patient information leaflets were syntactically complex. However, a comparative analysis of the leaflets across ailments revealed no significant difference in the syntactical and lexical densities among the leaflets. The researcher recommends that further studies be conducted in other health information documents to ascertain their linguistic complexity. Keywords: readability, lexical density, syntactical complexity, Coh-Metrix, patient information leaflets, health communication