Volumen 80, Número 2, Marzo-Abril 2012

Jorge Alberto Álvarez-Díaz

Abstract
Background: Informed consent (IC) is the process where the patient receives information provided by the medical staff to understand key aspects of any intervention to be performed on the patient and for the patient to have the right to allow (or not) that such intervention takes place. To accomplish this objective, health care workers have two groups of tools: those that evaluate the capacity (and competence) of patients and those that facilitate the information and communication process. Among these are clinical interviewing skills, relationship help, emotional support (counseling) and written forms of IC. The IC process is difficult in assisted reproduction due to the quantity and complexity of information on human fertility, developmental biology, and technology applications.
The Latin American Network of Assisted Reproduction has had eight "education and consent forms in assisted reproductive proceduresî since 2001. We undertook this study to measure the readability of the formal language "education and consent forms in assisted reproduction procedures" proposed by LANAR with the Flesch index validated in Spanish.
Methods: Eight files were obtained in Microsoft Word format to use tools. The INFLESZ scale was used to assess the formal linguistics readability of each of the eight forms.
Conclusions: The eight forms have a readability of "somewhat difficult," which corresponds to the INFLESZ scale for specialist press and popular science texts, making them difficult to understand for an average reader. Based on this, it should be proposed to amend formal readability.
Key words: readability, informed consent, assisted reproductive technologies, Latin American Network on Assisted Reproduction, bioethics.