The Easy Read Project: an investigation into the accessibility value of health-based ‘easy read’ literature

Buell, Susan, Bunning, Karen ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7396-9205, Langdon, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7745-1825 and Pounds, Gabrina (2014) The Easy Read Project: an investigation into the accessibility value of health-based ‘easy read’ literature. In: IASSID Europe Congress, Vienna. UNSPECIFIED.

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Abstract

Aims: Access to written information is vital to support wellbeing and participation in decision making about health. This study aims to investigate what makes ‘easy read’ material easier to read than mainstream material for people with intellectual disabilities. Methods: Stage 1 comprised a structured survey of the properties of ‘easy read’ literature, followed by a multi-level linguistic analysis (quantitative and qualitative) of text samples from ‘easy read’ material and matching mainstream versions from the UK Department of Health website. Data were analysed and differences between ‘easy read’ and mainstream documents were compared. Results: Significant differences between ‘easy read’ and mainstream texts on quantitative multilevel linguistic measures largely support the hypothesis that ‘easy read’ material is less linguistically complex than its mainstream comparator. Qualitative discourse analysis reveals ‘easy read’ material to be more restricted, more directive and less inclusive than similar information in mainstream format. Conclusion: Initial findings from linguistic analyses demonstrate the need to readdress some of the commonly held principles for the production and use of ‘easy read’ material. Stage 2 of the study involves people with intellectual disabilities undertaking a series of reading comprehension tasks informed by the results of Stage 1.

Item Type:	Book Section
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > School of Health Sciences Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School Faculty of Arts and Humanities > School of Politics, Philosophy, Language and Communication Studies
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Rehabilitation Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Migration Research Network Faculty of Arts and Humanities > Research Groups > Language and Communication Studies Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Centres > Lifespan Health
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	19 Jan 2015 14:56
Last Modified:	19 Oct 2023 03:45
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/51737
DOI:

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