The variation in readability of two-foot surgery outcome questionnaires

Measuring the outcome of surgical intervention is an integral part of modern-day healthcare provision. The increasing requirement to monitor patient-reported outcomes highlights the need for patients to be able to read and understand health outcomes questionnaires. This study compared the readability of two commonly used, validated foot surgery outcome questionnaires (the Foot Health Status Questionnaire and the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire) using the Flesch reading ease score and the Flesch Kincaid grade level score. The Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire had a significantly higher (p<0.003) score for reading ease and a significantly lower reading grade score (p<0.005) than the Foot Health Status Questionnaire. The findings suggest the Manchester-Oxford Foot Questionnaire is a more suitable instrument in terms of readability and comprehension for a greater proportion of the population undergoing hallux valgus surgery