Readability of online patient education materials for Merkel cell carcinoma

Zhang, Yue; Nguyen, Catherine C.; Bilimoria, Karl Y.; Merkow, Ryan P.

doi:10.1007/s00403-022-02381-9

Cited by 1 publication

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Patient EMs from LLS, NCCN, and ACS averaged above the reading level recommended by the AMA and NIH. The results of our study are consistent with previous studies on education materials on various diagnoses across different specialties [5,[9][10][11]. Although there were significant differences between the readability scoring modalities, the majority of patient EMs were above the seventh-grade reading level regardless of the scoring modality used.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

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Evaluating the Readability of Online Blood Cancer Education Materials Across Different Readability Measures

Shin,

Banubakode,

Taveras Alam

et al. 2024

Cureus

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IntroductionThe National Institutes of Health and the American Medical Association recommend patient education materials (EMs) be at or below the sixth-grade reading level. The American Cancer Society, Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and National Comprehensive Cancer Network have accurate blood cancer EMs. MethodsOne hundred one (101) blood cancer EMs from the above organizations were assessed using the following: Flesch Reading Ease Formula (FREF), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Gunning Fog Index (GFI), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index (SMOG), and the Coleman-Liau Index (CLI). ResultsOnly 3.96% of patient EMs scored at or below the seventh-grade reading level in all modalities. Healthcare professional education materials (HPEMs) averaged around the college to graduate level. For leukemia and lymphoma patient EMs, there were significant differences for FKGL vs. SMOG, FKGL vs. GFI, FKGL vs. CLI, SMOG vs. CLI, and GFI vs. CLI. For HPEMs, there were significant differences for FKGL vs. GFI and GFI vs. CLI. ConclusionThe majority of patient EMs were above the seventh-grade reading level. A lack of easily readable patient EMs could lead to a poor understanding of disease and, thus, adverse health outcomes. Overall, patient EMs should not replace physician counseling. Physicians must close the gaps in patients' understanding throughout their cancer treatment.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

“…Previous studies have found that the readability of existing EMs on various medical diagnoses exceeds the recommended reading level [5,[9][10][11]. Because there is no specific method for assessing medical language, previous studies have used various readability-scoring methodologies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%