Resources require high literacy levels and often lack translation to other languages<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Lori Solomon HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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TUESDAY, Dec. 6, 2022 (HealthDay News) — Online resources from the nation s heart transplant center websites are not easily readable or understandable for most Americans, according to a study published online Oct. 22 in the Journal of Cardiac Failure<\/em>.<\/p>\n James W. Stewart II, M.D., from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and colleagues reviewed patient-facing information on websites of U.S. heart transplant centers identified through the United Network for Organ Sharing in August 2022. <\/p>\n The researchers found that the median Fry readability level to understand a piece of text for all regions was 15, which is equivalent to a college junior reading level (range, 7 to 17). Regions were similar for median Fry readability levels. Just over half of the 139 eligible heart transplant center websites (56.1 percent) had non-English resources available for patients. The highest percentage of non-English resources was seen in regions 5 (Southwest states and California; 75 percent) and 6 (Northwest states; 75 percent), while region 2 (Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, and Washington, D.C.) had the lowest (38 percent).<\/p>\n “Heart transplant center online resources are inadequate, and many do not provide translations of the English language,” the authors write. “Additional work is needed to standardize heart-transplant patient information for a diverse U.S. patient population.”<\/p>\n Abstract\/Full Text (subscription or payment may be required)<\/a><\/p>\n <\/i><\/p>\n