Michel Christopher, Dijanic Christopher, Abdelmalek George, Sudah Suleiman, Kerrigan Daniel, Gorgy George, Yalamanchili Praveen
Department of Orthopedic Surgery, Monmouth Medical Center - RWJBarnabas Health, Long Branch, NJ, USA.
Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, Newark, NJ, USA.
J Child Orthop. 2023 May 16;17(3):284-290. doi: 10.1177/18632521231156435. eCollection 2023 Jun.
The Internet has become a popular source of health information for patients and their families. Healthcare experts recommend that the readability of online education materials be at or below a sixth grade reading level. This translates to a standardized Flesch Reading Ease Score between 81 and 90, which is equivalent to conversational English. However, previous studies have demonstrated that the readability of online education materials of various orthopedic topics is too advanced for the average patient. To date, the readability of online education materials for pediatric spinal conditions has not been analyzed. The objective of this study was to assess the readability of online educational materials of top pediatric orthopedic hospital websites for pediatric spinal conditions.
Online patient education materials from the top 25 pediatric orthopedic institutions, as ranked by the U.S. News and World Report hospitals for pediatric orthopedics, were assessed utilizing multiple readability assessment metrics including Flesch-Kincaid, Flesch Reading Ease, Gunning Fog Index, and others. Correlations between academic institutional ranking, geographic location, and the use of concomitant multimedia modalities with Flesch-Kincaid scores were evaluated using a Spearman regression.
Only 32% (8 of 25) of top pediatric orthopedic hospitals provided online health information at or below a sixth grade reading level. The mean Flesch-Kincaid score was 9.3 ± 2.5, Flesch Reading Ease 48.3 ± 16.2, Gunning Fog Score 10.7 ± 3.0, Coleman-Liau Index 12.1 ± 2.8, Simple Measure of the Gobbledygook Index 11.7 ± 2.1, Automated Readability Index 9.0 ± 2.7, FORCAST 11.3 ± 1.2, and Dale-Chall Readability Index 6.7 ± 1.4. There was no significant correlation between institutional ranking, geographic location, or use of video material with Flesch-Kincaid scores (p = 0.1042, p = 0.7776, p = 0.3275, respectively).
Online educational material for pediatric spinal conditions from top pediatric orthopedic institutional websites is associated with excessively complex language which may limit comprehension for the majority of the US population.
TYPE OF STUDY/LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: Economic and Decision Analysis/level III.
互联网已成为患者及其家属获取健康信息的常见来源。医疗保健专家建议，在线教育材料的可读性应达到或低于六年级阅读水平。这相当于标准化的弗莱什易读性分数在81至90之间，等同于日常英语水平。然而，先前的研究表明，各种骨科主题的在线教育材料对于普通患者来说难度过高。迄今为止，尚未对儿科脊柱疾病在线教育材料的可读性进行分析。本研究的目的是评估顶尖儿科骨科医院网站上有关儿科脊柱疾病的在线教育材料的可读性。
利用包括弗莱什-金凯德、弗莱什易读性、冈宁雾度指数等多种可读性评估指标，对美国新闻与世界报道评选出的排名前25的儿科骨科机构的在线患者教育材料进行评估。使用斯皮尔曼回归评估学术机构排名、地理位置以及多媒体方式的使用与弗莱什-金凯德分数之间的相关性。
在排名前25的儿科骨科医院中，只有32%（25家中有8家）提供了六年级及以下阅读水平的在线健康信息。平均弗莱什-金凯德分数为9.3±2.5，弗莱什易读性分数为48.3±16.2，冈宁雾度分数为10.7±3.0，科尔曼-廖指数为12.1±2.8，晦涩难懂指数的简易测量值为11.7±2.1，自动可读性指数为9.0±2.7，FORCAST为11.3±1.2，戴尔-查尔可读性指数为6.7±1.4。机构排名、地理位置或视频材料的使用与弗莱什-金凯德分数之间均无显著相关性（分别为p = 0.1042、p = 0.7776、p = 0.3275）。
顶尖儿科骨科机构网站上有关儿科脊柱疾病的在线教育材料语言过于复杂，可能会限制大多数美国民众的理解。
研究类型/证据水平：经济与决策分析/三级。
