Abstract
Patient education materials (PEMs) were assessed from chronic health condition associations to determine their quality and if they were above the 6th grade reading level (GRL) recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and National Institutes of Health. PEMs from 55 associations were assessed for their GRL using ten readability scales and underwent a difficult word analysis. The associations had their quality assessed using two methods: the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Benchmarks and Health on the Net Foundation Code of Conduct certification (HONCode). Two thousand five hundred and ninety PEMs, collected between June and November 2021, were analyzed. The overall GRL average was 10.8 ± 2.8, with a range of 0 to 19. Difficult word analysis showed that 15.8% ± 4.8 contained complex words of 3 or more syllables and 25.7% ± 6.3 contained words which were unfamiliar. No association displayed all four indicators of quality according to JAMA Benchmarks or held an up-to-date HONCode certification. The PEM readability continues to be written at a level above the recommended GRL. Additionally, the lack of quality indicators from the associations’ websites may make it difficult for older adults to identify the sources as credible. This represents an opportunity to optimize materials that would be understood by a wider audience.
Highlights
Our study aims to examine Patient education materials (PEMs) from 55 associations that provide information on specific chronic health conditions common to older adults, based on 10 validated readability scales with disease cluster specific recommendations [24]
Lifestylelifestyle behaviors and improve adherence to physician adviceadvice. They they should be written at aconsistent level consistent with the literacy health literacy of the targeted popushould be written at a level with the health of the targeted population and be as credible sources of health information
Over 2500 PEMs from 55 associations relating to specific medical conditions that older adults commonly experience have an average grade reading level (GRL) of 10.8 ± 2.8, which is significantly above the recommended 6th GRL
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Older adults are the most likely to experience chronic health conditions, which are the leading causes of morbidity and mortality. This population has been shown to have lower levels of health literacy relative to the general population [1,2,3]. Health literacy is defined as an individual’s ability to access, understand, and utilize information to create an informed decision regarding their health, and is correlated to reading level [3,4,5,6]
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