Reducing the Use of Complex Words and Reducing Sentence Length to <15 Words Improves Readability of Patient Education Materials Regarding Sports Medicine Knee Injuries

ABSTRACT:

Purpose

To develop a standardized method to improve readability of orthopaedic patient education materials (PEMs) without diluting their critical content by reducing the use of complex words (≥3 syllables) and shortening sentence length to ≤15 words.

Methods

OrthoInfo, a patient education website developed by the Academy of American Orthopedic Surgeons, was queried for PEMs relevant to the care of athletic injuries of the knee. Inclusion criteria were PEMs that were unique, pertained to topics of knee pathology in sports medicine, and written in a prose format. Exclusion criteria were information presented in video or slideshow format, or topics not pertaining to knee pathology in sports medicine. Readability of PEMs was evaluated using 7 unique readability formulas befor

SUBMITTER:  

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9971903 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature