Evaluating the readability and suitability of construction occupational safety and health materials designed for workers.

INTRODUCTION: Printed materials for training and hazard communication are an essential part of occupational safety and health programs, but must be understood by their intended audience. METHODS: Researchers collected 103 safety training handouts, brochures, and Safety Data Sheets and scored them for readability and suitability using four standard health communication instruments: the SMOG test, the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease Assessment, the SAM (Suitability Assessment of Materials), and CCI (the CDC Clear Communication Index). RESULTS: Some of the materials used unfamiliar and technical terms. The SAM and CCI checklists revealed several elements of design and layout known to facilitate communication and comprehension, but missing from most of the materials scored. CONCLUSION: Occupational safety and health professionals preparing curricula and handouts for distribution to workers should incorporate some form of readability and suitability assessment to help ensure their written materials are clear and comprehensible to all segments of their audience.

Physicians' Religious Topic Avoidance during Clinical Interactions.

Religious and spiritual (R/S) conversations at the end-of-life function to help patients and their families find comfort in difficult circumstances. Physicians who feel uncertain about how to discuss topics related to religious beliefs may seek to avoid R/S conversations with their patients. This study utilized a two-group objective structured clinical examination with a standardized patient to explore differences in physicians' use of R/S topic avoidance tactics during a clinical interaction. Results indicated that physicians used more topic avoidance tactics in response to patients' R/S inquiries than patients' R/S disclosures; however, the use of topic avoidance tactics did not eliminate the need to engage in patient-initiated R/S interactions.