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Readability of patient education materials for lumbar disc replacement
Anil Sedani1, Eric Kholodovsky2, William A Marmor1
1Department of Orthopaedics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, FL, USA.
Background:
Many patients refer to internet-based patient education materials (PEMs) to learn about lumbar disc replacement. The purpose of this study is to assess the readability of PEMs on lumbar disc replacement.
Methods:
The Google search engine was queried with the phrase "lumbar disc replacement patient information". Readability scores were calculated for the initial 25 websites that met inclusion criteria by copying the PEM to http://www.readabilityformulas.com. SPSS version 28.0.0 was used to calculate descriptive statistics for each measure.
Results:
The mean average reading level was 12.08±1.73. The mean readability score for Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease Score was 45.60±9.16. Additional scores include Gunning Fog, 14.50±2.06; Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), 10.94±2.14; The Coleman Liau Index, 12.82±1.50; Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) Index, 10.51±1.56; Automated Readability Index, 11.81±2.46; Linsear Write Formula, 11.08±3.49. Zero PEMs were found to be below the 6th-grade or 8th-grade reading level.
Conclusions:
PEM readability is a crucial part of the patient care experience, and the current readability of lumbar disc replacement PEMs is not at an acceptable level. Given their current state, PEMs can make it difficult for a sizable proportion of the general population to comprehend the nature of their medical condition and how to appropriately treat it.
