The American Heart Association collaborated with The American Stroke Association and issued this educational material to educate the public on the complications of stroke. The material starts with a brief description of doctors’ priorities and their reasons for such priorities regarding post-stroke care; brief yet broad descriptions of what may cause such complications are provided. The material then lists nine various complications that could be experienced after stroke. These complications are briefly described in one or two sentences using slight medical jargon. Both medical and physical treatment can be prescribed for these complications; the article briefly discusses these possibilities. Phone numbers and websites are provided for
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This being said, age is one of the most important risk factors for stoke; in 2009, 66% of strokes happened in those aged 65 years or older. The target audience of this educational material is stroke survivors, which can be assumed is majority elderly. Using the SMOG Readability Formula, this educational material is at a 9th grade reading level. The Automated Readability Index rates this material an 8.5, which would be appropriate for 13-15 year olds, roughly 9th grade. The Flesch-Kincad Scale rates the material at a 50.1 with a reading level of 9th grade. An ease score of 50.1 indicates that this material is difficult to read. The average American has the ability to read up to an 8th grade level. This material may be difficult to read based on the average American reading level, which makes the reading level slightly inappropriate for the target population. Some higher SES, well-educated elderly high in health literacy will understand while others who are of lower SES or less educated with lower health literacy may have a harder time understanding and utilizing this information. Although this material focuses heavily on medical jargon, the necessary terms are defined and explained in terms the audience will understand either on their own or with the help of doctors or …show more content…
Although right margins are not justified and the spacing between words is even, the font of this material is very small. This font size would be acceptable if this material were aimed towards young and middle aged adults, not towards older adults. The smaller font could pose an issue for older readers who wear glasses, bifocals, or corrective lens or have cataracts, glaucoma, and/or macular degeneration. The information in this material is presented in such a way that it is hard to follow. The headings are easy to identify, but subheadings are difficult to recognize, which can make the organization of material seem muddled and confusing. Older adults learn new information at a slower rate than younger adults to due to a reduction in the reasoning and processing components of learning. While reading and analyzing this material, one has to really sit down and reread the information presented numerous times in order to discover the material’s focus and goals. Even then, it is still difficult to “chunk” the information presented in this material. Studies have shown that young adults are able to recall up to 7 pieces of information from short-term memory, while older adults can only recall 3-5 pieces of information. This educational material presents information in chunks of up to nine pieces of information. Presenting information in such large “chunks”
This being said, age is one of the most important risk factors for stoke; in 2009, 66% of strokes happened in those aged 65 years or older. The target audience of this educational material is stroke survivors, which can be assumed is majority elderly. Using the SMOG Readability Formula, this educational material is at a 9th grade reading level. The Automated Readability Index rates this material an 8.5, which would be appropriate for 13-15 year olds, roughly 9th grade. The Flesch-Kincad Scale rates the material at a 50.1 with a reading level of 9th grade. An ease score of 50.1 indicates that this material is difficult to read. The average American has the ability to read up to an 8th grade level. This material may be difficult to read based on the average American reading level, which makes the reading level slightly inappropriate for the target population. Some higher SES, well-educated elderly high in health literacy will understand while others who are of lower SES or less educated with lower health literacy may have a harder time understanding and utilizing this information. Although this material focuses heavily on medical jargon, the necessary terms are defined and explained in terms the audience will understand either on their own or with the help of doctors or …show more content…
Although right margins are not justified and the spacing between words is even, the font of this material is very small. This font size would be acceptable if this material were aimed towards young and middle aged adults, not towards older adults. The smaller font could pose an issue for older readers who wear glasses, bifocals, or corrective lens or have cataracts, glaucoma, and/or macular degeneration. The information in this material is presented in such a way that it is hard to follow. The headings are easy to identify, but subheadings are difficult to recognize, which can make the organization of material seem muddled and confusing. Older adults learn new information at a slower rate than younger adults to due to a reduction in the reasoning and processing components of learning. While reading and analyzing this material, one has to really sit down and reread the information presented numerous times in order to discover the material’s focus and goals. Even then, it is still difficult to “chunk” the information presented in this material. Studies have shown that young adults are able to recall up to 7 pieces of information from short-term memory, while older adults can only recall 3-5 pieces of information. This educational material presents information in chunks of up to nine pieces of information. Presenting information in such large “chunks”