Abstract
Background: As much as 80% of US adults search online for health related information. The value of the information is limited by the patients’ ability to comprehend it. Despite the recommendation by the American Medical Association (AMA) to provide all patient education materials (PEMs) at a 6th grade reading level, many online sources do not conform. This study aims to evaluate the readability of PEMs from major online sources for anesthesiology. Methods: We determined the readability of PEMs from five major anesthesiology organizations and twelve brochures from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) using ten validated readability scales. PEMs from the various anesthesiology websites were compiled into a single word document for analysis. The twelve patient education brochures from the ASA were downloaded and analyzed separately. We then grouped the twelve documents into one sample and compared it to the other anesthesiology association websites. Results: All of the PEMs provided by the ASA were determined to be higher than a 6th grade reading level with nine being at a 12th grade reading level or above. The PEMs of the five major anesthesiology association websites were beyond the 6th grade reading level with four out of five at greater than the 12th grade reading level. Conclusion: The results showed that the readability of PEMs provided by five major anesthesiology associations and the ASA was beyond the 6th grade. Therefore, the PEMs with improved readability in anesthesiology are needed.
Highlights
Research has shown that up to 80% of US adults search online for health-related information [1]
In July 2013, after institutional review board (IRB) approval, patient education materials (PEMs) were retrieved from the web sites of five major anesthesiology associations (Figure 1): American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine (ASRA), The Society for Pediatric Anesthesia (SPA), Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA), and The Society for Ambulatory Anesthesia (SAMBA)
Twelve patient brochures were downloaded from the ASA website and were analyzed individually using each of the chosen ten scales (Figure 2)
Summary
Research has shown that up to 80% of US adults search online for health-related information [1]. A study published in 2009 reported that 74% of all US adults use the internet, and 61% have looked for health or medical information online [2]. This number is growing exponentially with the increasing number of web users. Despite the recommendation by the American Medical Association (AMA) to provide all patient education materials (PEMs) at a 6th grade reading level, many online sources do not conform. Conclusion: The results showed that the readability of PEMs provided by five major anesthesiology associations and the ASA was beyond the 6th grade. The PEMs with improved readability in anesthesiology are needed
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