Table 1 Gunning’s Fog Index (FOG) and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) grade levels of studies and participants’ educational levels
From: Readability of patient information and consent documents in rheumatological studies
Study no | Study design | No of participants (n) | Mean age and sex | Participants years of schooling or education level | FOG grade 1 | FOG grade 2 | SMOG grade | Participants with lower educational level than required to understand the PICD % (n) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Netherlands | ||||||||
1 [47] | Evaluation of self-management programs | 19 | 21 years (n = 9) and 22 years (n = 10), female 84 % | Low 1a Middle 13b High 5c | 11.0 | 9.4 | 13 | 5 % (1) |
2 [48] | Cross-sectional study | 333 | 47 years, female 100 % | Low 15d Middle 256e High 62f | 10.1 | 9.0 | 13 | 5 % (15) |
3 [49] | Randomised controlled study | 199 | 62 years, female 65 % | Low 28d Middle 79e High 91f Missing 1 | 11.7 | 15.5 | 13 | 54 % (107) |
4 [50] | Randomised controlled study | 82 | 48 years, female 92 % | Low/intermediate 50 High 32 | 15.6 | 11.1 | 13 | 61 % (50) |
5 [51] | Randomised controlled study | 203 | In five groups: 39 to 43 years, female 92–100 % | Low 108 Middle 68 High 27 | 12.3 | 17.6 | 14 | 87 % (176) |
6 [52] | Qualitative focus group study | 20 | 57 years, female 75 % | Low 3d Middle 12e High 5f | 13.8 | 11.8 | 12 | 75 % (15) |
7 [53] | Randomised controlled study | 158 | 47 years, female 94 % | Primary (mean 7 years) 8 Secondary (mean 12 years) 128 Tertiary (mean 17 years) 22 | 15.6 | 13.9 | 15 | 86 % (136) |
Denmark | ||||||||
1 [54] | Randomised crossover study | 20 | 67 years, female 100 % | Elementary school 5 High school 0 <4 years at University level 9 4–6 years at University level 2 >6 years at University level 4 | 16.5 | 12.9 | 14 | 70 % (14) |
2 [55] | A prospective study | 315 | 55 years, female 77 % | None 67 Vocational 102 Higher 146 | 18.7 | 16.8 | 16 | 54 % (169) |
3 [56] | A qualitative interview study | 16 | 50 years, female 75 % | No formal education 2 Minimal education 7 Secondary education 4 University 3 | 13.0 | 11.0 | 13 | 69 % (9) |
4 [57] | A qualitative interview study | 13 | 44 years, male 100 % | Minimal education 1 Secondary education 9 University 3 | 11.5 | 17.0 | 15 | 77 % (10) |
5 [58] | Randomised controlled study | 287 | 63 years, female 87 % | <11 years 232 ≥11 years 55 | 13.6 | 17.9 | 15 | 81 % (232) |
6 [59] | Qualitative focus group study | 32 | 58 years, female 59 % | Unskilled 3 Vocational 18 Undergraduate 6 Graduate 5 | 15.2 | 13.8 | 14 | 84 % (27) |
7 [28] | A qualitative interview study | 31 | 38–89 years, female 85 % | <10 years 4 10–12 years 7 > 12 years 20 | 17.8 | 14.4 | 17 | 36 % (11) |
Norway | ||||||||
1 [60] | Randomised controlled study | 57 | Group 1: 68 and Group 2: 69 years, female 56 % | ≤12 years 24 > 12 years 33 | 16.9 | 11.4 | 13 | 42 % (24) |
2 [61] | Randomised controlled study | 141 | 58 years, female 69 % | ≤12 years 88 > 12 years 53 | 19.0 | 15.1 | 15 | 63 % (88) |
3 [62] | Randomised controlled study | 95 | 49 years, female 35 % | ≤12 years 58 > 12 years 37 | 16.6 | 13.8 | 15 | 61 % (58) |
4 [63] | Comparing treatment | 153 | Group 1: 57 years, female 89 %. Group 2: 51 years, female 53 % | ≤12 years 87 > 12 years 65 | 15.2 | 18.7 | 14 | 57 % (87) |
5 [64] | Randomised controlled study | 68 | 50 years, female 68 % | Elementary school 13 High school 36 College/university 19 | 13.3 | 13.6 | 14 | 72 % (49) |
6 [65] | Randomised controlled study | 135 | 44 years, all female | ≤10 years 21 11–13 years 49 > 13 years 53 Unknown 12 | 14.9 | 9.8 | 14 | 52 % (70) |
7 [66] | Follow up study | 134 | 55 years, female 87 % | 9 years 36 ≤ 12 years 43 > 12 years 55 | 12.8 | 13.3 | 14 | 59 % (79) |
8 [27] | A longitudinal study | 281 | 46 years, female 58 % | ≤9 years 38 10–12 years 118 > 12 years 125 | 12.8 | 13.7 | 15 | 56 % (156) |
9 [29] | Randomised controlled study | 107 | M-group 48 years, N-group 51ys, female 43 % | Mean years of education 13 years (M-group) 12 years (N-group) | 15.0 | 18.7 | 15 | Cannot be calculated |
10 [67] | Randomised controlled study | 73 | 54 years, female 79 % | ≤12 years 36 > 12 years 37 | 12.9 | 13.6 | 14 | 49 % (36) |
Participants in 23 studies | 2865g | 57 % (1619g) | ||||||