Der Einfluss von Vorwissen und sprachlichen Texteigenschaften auf die Anwendung des Fragebogens in einer gynäkologischen Patientenaufklärung: eine leitfadengestützte Interviewstudie

Easy Language Plus is one way to make health information more accessible for specific target groups. This paper focuses on women with German as a second or first language. The study examines how the information in a medical history form is comprehended and applied by the study participants. Specific text-based communication barriers for text users are identified.

A qualitative semi-structured online interview study was used to examine comprehension and application of textual information. For this examination, evaluative, but also content-structuring categories were used (both according to Kuckartz and Rädiker) to structure the subjects’ opinions on the texts. Barriers to comprehension and application were categorised according to the Hildesheim school’s accessible communication model.

Forms as a text type are not oriented at the target groups. They present the text users with an expert knowledge barrier and an expert language barrier. Text users need extensive previous knowledge that most readers do not have. For people with German as a second language, there is the additional risk of a language barrier. Keywords like “diabetes” help readers to identify important segments and thus help them to apply the textual information. If users cannot apply the information they receive in a form, the overall communication situation becomes especially important.