Diana D Del Valle1, Jaime A Pardo2, Amy M Maselli3, Monica G Valero2, Betty Fan2, Nargiz Seyidova3, Ted A James2, Bernard T Lee3. 1. Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA. dianadelvalle.md@gmail.com. 2. Division of Breast Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, 110 Francis Street, Suite 5A, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. 3. Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE: Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in US Hispanic women. When present, lower health literacy levels potentially within this patient population require tailored materials to address health disparities. We aim to evaluate and compare Spanish and English online health care informative resources on preventive mastectomy. METHODS: A Google web search using "preventive mastectomy" and "mastectomía preventiva" was conducted. The first ten institutional/organizational websites in each language were selected. Assessment of mean reading grade level, cultural sensitivity, understandability, and actionability was carried out utilizing validated tools. RESULTS: The mean reading grade level for English materials was 14.69 compared with 11.3 for Spanish, both exceeding the recommended grade level established by the AMA and NIH. The mean cultural sensitivity score for English information was 2.20 compared with 1.88 for Spanish information, both below the acceptability benchmark of 2.5. English webpages scored 65% and 35% for understandability and actionability, respectively, while Spanish webpages scored 47% and 18%. CONCLUSIONS: Online English and Spanish preventive mastectomy materials were written at an elevated reading level and lacked cultural sensitivity. Spanish language information demonstrated inferior understandability, actionability, and cultural sensitivity. Addressing these issues provides an opportunity to help resolve health literature disparities regarding preventive mastectomy for US Hispanic women.
PURPOSE:Breast cancer remains the leading cause of cancer-related death in US Hispanic women. When present, lower health literacy levels potentially within this patient population require tailored materials to address health disparities. We aim to evaluate and compare Spanish and English online health care informative resources on preventive mastectomy. METHODS: A Google web search using "preventive mastectomy" and "mastectomía preventiva" was conducted. The first ten institutional/organizational websites in each language were selected. Assessment of mean reading grade level, cultural sensitivity, understandability, and actionability was carried out utilizing validated tools. RESULTS: The mean reading grade level for English materials was 14.69 compared with 11.3 for Spanish, both exceeding the recommended grade level established by the AMA and NIH. The mean cultural sensitivity score for English information was 2.20 compared with 1.88 for Spanish information, both below the acceptability benchmark of 2.5. English webpages scored 65% and 35% for understandability and actionability, respectively, while Spanish webpages scored 47% and 18%. CONCLUSIONS: Online English and Spanish preventive mastectomy materials were written at an elevated reading level and lacked cultural sensitivity. Spanish language information demonstrated inferior understandability, actionability, and cultural sensitivity. Addressing these issues provides an opportunity to help resolve health literature disparities regarding preventive mastectomy for US Hispanic women.
Entities:
Keywords:
Health literacy; Hispanic population; Online materials; Preventive mastectomy; Readability
Authors: Cindy Tofthagen; Barbara Halpenny; Maribel Melendez; Laura Gonzalez; Veronica Sanchez Varela; Rosalyn Negrón; Donna L Berry Journal: Nurs Res Pract Date: 2014-06-19