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BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article

Front. Commun.
Sec. Health Communication
Volume 9 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fcomm.2024.1417494

Understandability of Passive Smoking Prevention Leaflets in Japan

Provisionally accepted
Tomoya Iso Tomoya Iso 1Yoshihiro Ishikawa Yoshihiro Ishikawa 1*Yurie Kobashi Yurie Kobashi 2*Kenneth Nollet Kenneth Nollet 2,3Hirohide Yokokawa Hirohide Yokokawa 4*Aya Goto Aya Goto 5,6
  • 1 Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan
  • 2 Global Exchange Center, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan
  • 3 Department of Blood Transfusion and Transplantation Immunology, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan
  • 4 Department of General Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
  • 5 Department of Global Health and Population, Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, United States
  • 6 Center for Integrated Science and Humanities, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima City, Japan

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    There are few studies in Japan evaluating informational materials about passive smoking prevention with respect to health literacy. This study applied a range of health literacy assessment tools to assess the understandability of public-sector leaflets about passive smoking prevention.We collected 26 anti-passive smoking leaflets published online by Japanese prefectural governments. We used three internationally recognized health literacy assessment tools to evaluate their understandability: the Clear Communication Index (CCI), the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM), and the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT, further divided into scales for understandability and actionability).Results: Although none of the assessed materials met the CCI's scoring threshold for "easy to understand," the highest-scoring leaflet, which received a top-two ranking in three of the four scales (excluding the PEMAT understandability scale), was characterized by its conciseness and its easy-to-understand structure, including the use of checklists and flowcharts to engage reader interest. There was a significant correlation between CCI and SAM, and between SAM and the PEMAT understandability scale. However, the PEMAT actionability scale did not significantly associate with the other assessment scales.The understandability of written informational materials about passive smoking prevention in Japan could be improved by referring to multiple assessment scales.

    Keywords: Health Literacy, passive smoking, Leaflets, CCI, Sam, PEMAT, Japan

    Received: 15 Apr 2024; Accepted: 29 Jul 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Iso, Ishikawa, Kobashi, Nollet, Yokokawa and Goto. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Yoshihiro Ishikawa, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan
    Yurie Kobashi, Global Exchange Center, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan
    Hirohide Yokokawa, Department of General Medicine, Juntendo University Faculty of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.