The readability of online patient education materials for slipped capital femoral epiphysis

Given the long-term complications of undiagnosed slipped capital femoral epiphysis (SCFE) and the importance of readable health information materials on positive, equitable health outcomes, the objective of this study was to determine if the online patient education materials regarding SCFE are written at or below accepted recommendations. The secondary objective was to determine whether the readability of these materials varied when stratified by the type of website. 'Slipped capital femoral epiphysis', 'SCFE', and 'slipped femoral head' were used as search queries in three common search engines. The readability of each website was evaluated using five established metrics, and the scores were compared by website type and by the complexity of the search query. In this study of 53 unique websites about SCFE, we demonstrated that only one of the web pages was written at the recommended sixth-grade level, and the mean reading level of the online material was above the 10th-grade level. Post hoc testing showed that only websites associated with pediatric academic institutions were written at a significantly lower grade level than general health websites [P < 0.05 for all, range (0.003, 0.04)]. The materials about SCFE that are available to patients and their families continue to be written at an inappropriate level. To increase accessibility and allow for equitable long-term health outcomes, physicians, universities, hospitals and medical societies must ensure that they produce readable education to increase patients' understanding of SCFE, its symptoms and available treatment options. Future studies evaluating progress regarding these metrics are warranted.