Readability of English and Spanish online patient education materials for shoulder arthroplasty

Background

Online patient educational materials (OPEMs) are a vital source of information for those undergoing shoulder arthroplasty, though their utility is limited by patient health literacy as the average American reads at an eighth-grade level. To promote optimal reading comprehension, the American Medical Association and National Institutes of Health recommend that OPEMs be written at or below a sixth-grade level. The purpose of this study is to analyze the readability of English and Spanish shoulder arthroplasty OPEMs.

Methods

Google Search was used to identify the first 25 eligible Shoulder Arthroplasty OPEMs in both English and Spanish using the search terms “shoulder replacement” and “reemplazo de hombro.” Readability of the English OPEMs was calculated using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch Reading Ease Index (FRE), Flesch Reading Ease Grade Level, Gunning-Fog Index, Coleman-Liau Index, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index. The readability of Spanish OPEMs was calculated using the Fernandez-Huerta Index (FHI; the Spanish version of FRE), Fernandez-Huerta Index Grade Level, Gutiérrez de Polini's Fórmula de compresibilidad, and Índice Flesch-Szigriszt.

Results

The mean FHI of Spanish OPEMs was significantly higher than the mean FRE of English OPEMs (60.09 vs. 51.48). As such, Spanish OPEMs were written at a significantly lower grade level than English OPEMs (9.70 vs. 11.53). There was not an English or Spanish OPEM that was written at or below a sixth-grade reading level. 4% of Spanish OPEMs and 4% of English OPEMs were written below an eighth-grade reading level. 52% of Spanish OPEMs and 8% of English OPEMs were written between an eighth- and ninth-grade reading level. The designation of OPEMs as being Very Easy/Easy, Standard/Normal, Fairly/Somewhat Difficult, or Difficult/Very Difficult was significantly dependent on whether the OPEM was written in English or Spanish.

Discussion and conclusion

English shoulder arthroplasty OPEMs were written at a higher reading difficulty than Spanish OPEMs. However, neither English nor Spanish OPEMs were written at a reading level at or below the recommended sixth-grade reading level. As older adults and those in the United States with limited English proficiency are susceptible to low health literacy, OPEMs must be written at an accessible reading level for all. Addressing these disparities in OPEM readability will improve patient care and understanding of shoulder arthroplasty and other orthopedic procedures.