Assessing the readability of patient education materials on dermatology practice websites: A focus on acne and skin cancer
Need to claim your poster? Find the KiKo table at the conference and they'll help
you get set up.
Presented at: Society for Investigative Dermatology 2025
Date: 2025-05-07 00:00:00
Views: 2
Summary: Abstract Body: Dermatology patients frequently seek medical information online, making accessible and readable patient education materials (PEMs) essential for improving patient understanding. Most dermatology practices established websites that serve as a primary education resource. The American Medical Association (AMA) recommends that PEMs be written at or below a 6th grade reading level. Given that acne is one of the most common dermatological conditions and the importance of skin cancer education in prevention, this study assesses the readability of acne and skin cancer PEMs across dermatology websites. A Google search was performed using “[state] dermatology practice” to identify the 10 most popular dermatology practice websites in 20 states. Duplicate parent websites and sites without relevant PEMs were excluded, resulting in 141 websites for analysis. PEMs were analyzed for readability using the WebFX Readability Tool. Five validated tests were applied to assess readability: Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease (FKRE), Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Gunning Fog Score (GFI), SMOG Index (SMOG), Coleman Liau Index (CLI), and Automated Readability Index (ARI). Mean readability scores for skin cancer PEMs were FKRE (51.18 ± 10.06), FKGL (10.74 ± 1.92), GFI (13.53 ± 2.17), SMOG (10.00 ± 1.65), CLI (12.48 ± 1.78), and ARI (10.51 ± 2.30), with none meeting the recommended 6th-grade reading level. Acne PEMs showed mean scores of FKRE (52.91 ± 11.23), FKGL (10.20 ± 2.24), GFI (12.27 ± 2.47), SMOG (9.13 ± 1.73), CLI (13.34 ± 1.92), and ARI (10.58 ± 2.70). Among the 141 websites, 119 included acne PEMs, and only 2 (1.05%) met the recommended 6th grade guideline. Both skin cancer and acne PEMS were “fairly difficult to read” (mean FKRE) and averaged a 10th-grade reading level (mean FKGL), exceeding the recommended 6th-grade guideline. Advances in artificial intelligence may improve readability of PEMs, though further research is needed to ensure accuracy is maintained. Nada Hentati<sup>1</sup>, Kaden M. Thomas<sup>1</sup>, Jeremy S. Bordeaux<sup>1, 2</sup> 1. Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, United States. 2. Department of Dermatology, University Hospitals, Cleveland, OH, United States. Clinical Research: Epidemiology and Observational Research