Shin Ashley, Banubakode Surbhi, Taveras Alam Sara, Gonzalez Anneliese O
Division of Hematology/Oncology, McGovern Medical School at UTHealth Houston, Houston, USA.
Cureus. 2024 Apr 17;16(4):e58488. doi: 10.7759/cureus.58488. eCollection 2024 Apr.
Introduction The 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. Methods One 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). Results Only 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. Conclusion The 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.
引言 美国国立卫生研究院和美国医学协会建议患者教育材料（EMs）的阅读水平应在六年级及以下。美国癌症协会、白血病与淋巴瘤协会以及国家综合癌症网络都有准确的血癌患者教育材料。方法 使用以下方法对上述组织的101份血癌患者教育材料进行评估：弗莱什易读性公式（FREF）、弗莱什-金凯德年级水平（FKGL）、冈宁雾度指数（GFI）、简化晦涩指数（SMOG）和科尔曼-廖指数（CLI）。结果 所有模式下，只有3.96%的患者教育材料得分在七年级及以下。医疗保健专业人员教育材料（HPEMs）的平均水平在大学到研究生水平之间。对于白血病和淋巴瘤患者教育材料，FKGL与SMOG、FKGL与GFI、FKGL与CLI、SMOG与CLI以及GFI与CLI之间存在显著差异。对于医疗保健专业人员教育材料，FKGL与GFI以及GFI与CLI之间存在显著差异。结论 大多数患者教育材料的阅读水平高于七年级。缺乏易于阅读的患者教育材料可能导致对疾病的理解不足，从而产生不良健康后果。总体而言，患者教育材料不应取代医生的咨询。医生必须在患者整个癌症治疗过程中弥补其理解上的差距。
