Evaluating the Readability of Patient‐Facing Online Educational Materials for Pediatric Leukemia and Lymphoma

BACKGROUND: Together, leukemia and lymphoma account for 38.7% of newly diagnosed pediatric cancer cases in the United States each year. Many caregivers utilize online resources to inform medical health decisions. Understanding the readability of these materials is critical to ensuring comprehensible patient education. We sought to evaluate if the readability of online patient-facing educational materials concerning pediatric leukemia and lymphoma met the recommended sixth-grade reading level by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the American Medical Association (AMA). METHODS: The websites of the 72 National Cancer Institute (NCI) accredited cancer centers were accessed and the presence of a pediatric-specific informational page regarding leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma were recorded and analyzed using Flesch-Kinkaid, Coleman-Liau, and SMOG readability indices. The top 50 internet search results for pediatric leukemia, non-Hodgkin lymphoma, and Hodgkin lymphoma were also analyzed. RESULTS: The average readability across disorders for the NCI-accredited Cancer Centers ranged from 8.62 to 10.20. A total of 95.6% of the Cancer Center materials did not meet the NIH and AMA guidelines. The average readability across disorders for the top 50 searches ranged from 10.52 to 11.01. A total of 98% of the search materials did not meet the guidelines. CONCLUSIONS: The materials currently available online may be too complex for the average individual to understand, providing a potential barrier to making informed healthcare decisions. Correcting the readability of online materials, including those that are physician-recommended, is crucial to ensuring comprehensive patient education.