Accessible health information supports people to understand and manage chronic medical conditions and is frequently presented via text. Comprehension of written health information becomes more difficult for people with language impairments, such as aphasia. Nine people with aphasia (PWA) and nine people without aphasia (PWoA), participated in this study. Each participant reviewed two unmodified medication instructions and two modified medication instructions using aphasia-friendly principles, then answered eight multiple choice questions and provided their preferences. Results showed that PWA demonstrated improved comprehension given modifications, but PWoA’s comprehension did not improve with modifications. Group comparison in the modified condition demonstrated that PWoA still demonstrated higher comprehension compared to PWA. Most participants, in both groups, preferred aphasia-friendly instructions. This study highlights the need for further improvements to be made to the health care system to support comprehension and independence of all persons with regard to readability of complex health information.
","abstract_html":"<p>Accessible health information supports people to understand and manage chronic medical conditions and is frequently presented via text. Comprehension of written health information becomes more difficult for people with language impairments, such as aphasia. Nine people with aphasia (PWA) and nine people without aphasia (PWoA), participated in this study. Each participant reviewed two unmodified medication instructions and two modified medication instructions using aphasia-friendly principles, then answered eight multiple choice questions and provided their preferences. Results showed that PWA demonstrated improved comprehension given modifications, but PWoA’s comprehension did not improve with modifications. Group comparison in the modified condition demonstrated that PWoA still demonstrated higher comprehension compared to PWA. Most participants, in both groups, preferred aphasia-friendly instructions. This study highlights the need for further improvements to be made to the health care system to support comprehension and independence of all persons with regard to readability of complex health information.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Saylor, Anna"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"MSSLP","degree_level":"Immediate Access","degree_discipline":"Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Sarah Wallace","Caterina Staltari","Elena Donoso-Brown","James Schreiber"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2020,"date_issued":"2020-08-08T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2020-08-08T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:10:58Z","subjects":["aphasia","aphasia-friendly","reading comprehension","medication","medication management","Speech Pathology and Audiology"],"languages":["English"],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1916","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Sarah Wallace","Caterina Staltari","Elena Donoso-Brown","James Schreiber"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Saylor, Anna"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2020-06-08T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Immediate Access"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["MSSLP"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["aphasia","aphasia-friendly","reading comprehension","medication","medication management","Speech Pathology and Audiology"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1916"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Accessible health information supports people to understand and manage chronic medical conditions and is frequently presented via text. Comprehension of written health information becomes more difficult for people with language impairments, such as aphasia. Nine people with aphasia (PWA) and nine people without aphasia (PWoA), participated in this study. Each participant reviewed two unmodified medication instructions and two modified medication instructions using aphasia-friendly principles, then answered eight multiple choice questions and provided their preferences. Results showed that PWA demonstrated improved comprehension given modifications, but PWoA’s comprehension did not improve with modifications. Group comparison in the modified condition demonstrated that PWoA still demonstrated higher comprehension compared to PWA. Most participants, in both groups, preferred aphasia-friendly instructions. This study highlights the need for further improvements to be made to the health care system to support comprehension and independence of all persons with regard to readability of complex health information.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Aphasia Friendly Medication Instructions: Effects on Comprehension in Persons with and without Aphasia"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Sarah Wallace","Caterina Staltari","Elena Donoso-Brown","James Schreiber"],"dc:creator":["Saylor, Anna"],"dc:date.available":["2020-06-08T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Accessible health information supports people to understand and manage chronic medical conditions and is frequently presented via text. Comprehension of written health information becomes more difficult for people with language impairments, such as aphasia. Nine people with aphasia (PWA) and nine people without aphasia (PWoA), participated in this study. Each participant reviewed two unmodified medication instructions and two modified medication instructions using aphasia-friendly principles, then answered eight multiple choice questions and provided their preferences. Results showed that PWA demonstrated improved comprehension given modifications, but PWoA’s comprehension did not improve with modifications. Group comparison in the modified condition demonstrated that PWoA still demonstrated higher comprehension compared to PWA. Most participants, in both groups, preferred aphasia-friendly instructions. This study highlights the need for further improvements to be made to the health care system to support comprehension and independence of all persons with regard to readability of complex health information.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://dsc.duq.edu/etd/1916"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:subject":["aphasia","aphasia-friendly","reading comprehension","medication","medication management","Speech Pathology and Audiology"],"dc:title":["Aphasia Friendly Medication Instructions: Effects on Comprehension in Persons with and without Aphasia"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Speech-Language Pathology (SLP)"],"thesis:degree_level":["Immediate Access"],"thesis:degree_name":["MSSLP"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:10:58Z"}