TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing the Readability of Anesthesia-Related Patient Education Materials from Major Anesthesiology Organizations
AU - Pashkova, Anna
AU - Bangalore, Raksha
AU - Tan, Cynthia
AU - Svider, Peter F.
AU - Korban, Anna
AU - Yam, Yee Kuen
AU - Chaudhry, Faraz
AU - Eloy, Jean Anderson
AU - Eloy, Jean Daniel
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Anna Pashkova et al.
PY - 2022
Y1 - 2022
N2 - Introduction. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), American Medical Association (AMA), and the US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) recommend that patient education materials (PEMs) be written between the 4th to 6th grade reading level to ensure readability by the average American. In this study, we examine the reading levels of online patient education materials from major anesthesiology organizations. Methods. Readability analysis of PEMs found on the websites of anesthesiology organizations was performed using the Flesch Reading Ease score, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook, New Dale-Chall test, Coleman-Liau Index, New Fog Count, Raygor Readability Estimate, the FORCAST test, and the Fry Score. Results. Most patient educational materials from the websites of the anesthesiology organizations evaluated were written at or above the 10th grade reading level. Conclusions. Online patient education materials from the major anesthesiology societies are written at levels higher than an average American adult reading skill level and higher than recommended by National Institute of Health, American Medical Association, and US Department of Health and Human Services. Online resources should be revised to improve readability. Simplifying text, using shorter sentences and terms are strategies online resources can implement to improve readability. Future studies should incorporate comprehensibility, user-friendliness, and linguistic ease to further understand the implications on overall healthcare.
AB - Introduction. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), American Medical Association (AMA), and the US Department of Health and Human Services (USDHHS) recommend that patient education materials (PEMs) be written between the 4th to 6th grade reading level to ensure readability by the average American. In this study, we examine the reading levels of online patient education materials from major anesthesiology organizations. Methods. Readability analysis of PEMs found on the websites of anesthesiology organizations was performed using the Flesch Reading Ease score, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook, New Dale-Chall test, Coleman-Liau Index, New Fog Count, Raygor Readability Estimate, the FORCAST test, and the Fry Score. Results. Most patient educational materials from the websites of the anesthesiology organizations evaluated were written at or above the 10th grade reading level. Conclusions. Online patient education materials from the major anesthesiology societies are written at levels higher than an average American adult reading skill level and higher than recommended by National Institute of Health, American Medical Association, and US Department of Health and Human Services. Online resources should be revised to improve readability. Simplifying text, using shorter sentences and terms are strategies online resources can implement to improve readability. Future studies should incorporate comprehensibility, user-friendliness, and linguistic ease to further understand the implications on overall healthcare.
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U2 - 10.1155/2022/3284199
DO - 10.1155/2022/3284199
M3 - Article
C2 - 35872854
AN - SCOPUS:85134999626
SN - 2314-6133
VL - 2022
JO - BioMed Research International
JF - BioMed Research International
M1 - 3284199
ER -