Readability and Accessibility of Patient Education Materials for Heart Failure in the United States

Abstract

Online education materials are widely used by patients and caregivers to understand the management of complex chronic diseases such as heart failure (HF). Organizations such as the American Medical Association and National Institutes of Health recommend that materials be written at a 6th grade reading level. The current study examined the readability and accessibility of online education materials for patients with HF. Whole page text from each included website was entered into an online readability calculator. Five validated readability indices (Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease Scale, Gunning Fog Index, Coleman-Liau Index, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG Index)) were used to evaluate each source. Websites were categorized by source (government, public, and private). The availability of audiovisual accessibility features and content in non-English languages were assessed for each website. Of the 36 online resources analyzed, the median readability level was 9-10th grade by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and college level using the Flesch Reading Ease Scale. The Gunning Fog Index and Coleman-Liau Index both showed median readability scores corresponding to a 12th grade reading level, while the SMOG Index showed a median score corresponding to that of the 9th grade. Only 10 websites (28%) offered information in languages other than English, and none provided comprehensive accessibility features for users with disabilities. Common online educational materials for patients with HF are characterized by a higher readability level than that recommended by the National Institutes of Health and American Medical Association with limited multilingual and accessibility options, potentially limiting the accessibility of resources to patients and caregivers.