The Readability of Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Patient Education Materials

The National Institute of Health (NIH) recommends that healthcare education material be written at a 6th-7th grade reading level. There are yet to be studies that investigate the readability of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) educational materials. Educational materials published by Extracorporeal Life Support Organization's platinum, gold, and silver centers of excellence in the United States were included. Each material was analyzed for content related to ECMO. These topics were also input into Google and the top 20 results were included in this study. Readability was measured using the Measure of Gobbledygook Readability Formula (SMOG), Coleman-Liau index, and Flesch-Kincaid grade level (FKGL). The average reading level for the educational material from the platinum centers was 8.54 for SMOG, 11.38 for Coleman-Liau, and 9.44 for FKGL. The average reading level of the gold centers' material was 9.11 for SMOG, 11.62 for Coleman-Liau, and 10.21 for FKGL. The average reading level of the silver centers' material was 8.82 for SMOG, 11.61 for Coleman-Liau, and 11.53 for FKGL. The average reading level of the internet search results was 9.11 for SMOG, 10.92 for Coleman-Liau, and 9.77 for FKGL. Extracorporeal membrane oxygenation education material had a readability level above the NIH's recommendation.