Development of printable and online health education material evaluation tools

Objective To build a comprehensive evaluation system for printable and online materials, and provide reference for the compilation and selection of patient education materials. Methods Taking Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM) as frame and combined Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) and CDC Clear Communication Index, we screened indicator of the evaluation system preliminary and all of them have been adjusted with the language habits and social and cultural characteristics of our country. By Delphi method, 15 experts in related fields were selected to conduct 2 rounds of expert consultation to establish the final indicator system. The weights of the different indicators were also analyzed by Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP). Results The indicator system of printable and online patient education materials was consisted of 7 first-level indicators,28 second-level indicators,84 third-level indicators. The positive coefficients and the authority coefficients of the experts were 100% and 0.87 of the two rounds. The coordination factors of the experts in second-level and third-level were respectively 0.362 and 0.255 for the second round. The top three indicators of the first-level indicators were content (0.271 5), behavioral suggestion (0.190 4), and language expression (0.190 4); the highest-level index weight was scientific content (0.095 7), and the lowest was the use of commonly numbers, correct interpretation of numbers and units′ meaning (0.007 0). Conclusion The comprehensive evaluation system for printable and online materials is scientific, comprehensive and easy to operate. It can provide reference for medical worker to prepare and select printable and online materials. Key words: Patient education material; Delphi method; AHP method; Indicator system