TY - JOUR
T1 - Assessing the Readability, Quality, and Characteristics of Online Patient Educational Materials Pertaining to Gender-Affirming Surgery
AU - Bajaj, Anitesh
AU - Sylla, Fatoumata
AU - Sriram, Nikhil
AU - Soltani, Hannah
AU - Marzouk, Sammer
AU - Sparks, Payton J.
AU - Uryga, Abigail
AU - Sebree, Becca
AU - Li, Rena A.
AU - Galiano, Robert D.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2025 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. Unauthorized reproduction of this article is prohibited.
PY - 2025
Y1 - 2025
N2 - Background Patients access online resources for information about various treatment modalities, including gender-affirming surgery (GAS) patient populations. The present study provides a readability, content quality, technical quality, and qualitative characteristic assessment of online patient educational materials (OPEM) related to GAS. Methods An online search using search phrases related to GAS was performed. The first 20 unique search results for each search term were further assessed if identified as an OPEM. The readability, content quality, and technical quality were assessed. Characteristics including mention of World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines and discussion of insurance coverage were recorded. Statistical analyses included analysis of variance, chi-squared tests, and 2-sample t tests. Results Overall, 231 OPEM were identified (academic/hospital: 124, private practice: 47, online health reference: 43, other: 17). The average consensus grade level was 12.7, which was significantly higher than the National Institutes of Health/American Medical Association-recommended sixth-grade level (P < 0.001). With regard to content quality, academic/hospital websites had a significantly higher DISCERN score than private practice websites (P = 0.01). Notably, only 35% of OPEM mentioned WPATH guidelines. Academic/hospital websites mentioned WPATH guidelines at a significantly higher frequency than nonacademic/hospital websites (P < 0.001). Private practice websites had a significantly higher technical quality score than academic/hospital websites (P < 0.001). Conclusions A significant discrepancy in readability was identified between analyzed websites and the National Institutes of Health/American Medical Association recommendation of a sixth-grade level. Further efforts are necessary to ensure accessible and accurate information is available for patients seeking OPEM related to GAS.
AB - Background Patients access online resources for information about various treatment modalities, including gender-affirming surgery (GAS) patient populations. The present study provides a readability, content quality, technical quality, and qualitative characteristic assessment of online patient educational materials (OPEM) related to GAS. Methods An online search using search phrases related to GAS was performed. The first 20 unique search results for each search term were further assessed if identified as an OPEM. The readability, content quality, and technical quality were assessed. Characteristics including mention of World Professional Association for Transgender Health (WPATH) guidelines and discussion of insurance coverage were recorded. Statistical analyses included analysis of variance, chi-squared tests, and 2-sample t tests. Results Overall, 231 OPEM were identified (academic/hospital: 124, private practice: 47, online health reference: 43, other: 17). The average consensus grade level was 12.7, which was significantly higher than the National Institutes of Health/American Medical Association-recommended sixth-grade level (P < 0.001). With regard to content quality, academic/hospital websites had a significantly higher DISCERN score than private practice websites (P = 0.01). Notably, only 35% of OPEM mentioned WPATH guidelines. Academic/hospital websites mentioned WPATH guidelines at a significantly higher frequency than nonacademic/hospital websites (P < 0.001). Private practice websites had a significantly higher technical quality score than academic/hospital websites (P < 0.001). Conclusions A significant discrepancy in readability was identified between analyzed websites and the National Institutes of Health/American Medical Association recommendation of a sixth-grade level. Further efforts are necessary to ensure accessible and accurate information is available for patients seeking OPEM related to GAS.
KW - gender-affirming surgery
KW - health literacy
KW - patient resources
KW - readability
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U2 - 10.1097/SAP.0000000000004238
DO - 10.1097/SAP.0000000000004238
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85218133834
SN - 0148-7043
JO - Annals of plastic surgery
JF - Annals of plastic surgery
M1 - 10.1097/SAP.0000000000004238
ER -