ArticleJournal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews2024
Readability Analysis of Patient Education Material on Rotator Cuff Injuries From the Top 25 Ranking Orthopaedic Institutions.
Article in Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed.
- Evaluating the quality and reliability of rotator cuff injury related videos on Bilibili and TikTok: A cross-sectional analysis.Medicine · 2026Article
- Readability of AI-Generated Patient Visit Summaries in Orthopedic Surgery: Retrospective Analysis.Journal of medical Internet research · 2026Article
- Patient-facing materials for hip and knee preservation surgery are written well above recommended reading level.Journal of hip preservation surgery · 2026Article
- Readability Analysis of Commonly Cited Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in the Orthopaedic Joint Literature.Arthroplasty today · 2026Article
- Comments on "Readability Analysis of Patient Education Material on Rotator Cuff Injuries From the Top 25 Ranking Orthopedic Institutions".Journal of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Global research & reviews · 2024Article
- Improving Biomedical Science Literacy and Patient-Directed Knowledge of Tuberculosis (TB): A Cross-Sectional Infodemiology Study Examining Readability of Patient-Facing TB Information.British journal of biomedical science · 2024Article
- Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
introductionRotator cuff injuries (RCIs) are incredibly common in the US adult population. Forty-three percent of adults have basic or below-basic literacy levels; nonetheless, patient educational materials (PEMs) are frequently composed at levels exceeding these reading capabilities. This study investigates the readability of PEMs on RCIs published by leading US orthopaedic institutions.
methodsThe top 25 orthopaedic institutions on the 2022 U.S. News & World Report Best Hospitals Specialty Ranking were selected. Readability scores of PEMs related to RCI were calculated using the www.readabilityformulas.com website.
resultsAmong the 25 analyzed PEM texts, all exceeded the sixth-grade reading level. Only four of 168 scores (2.4%) were below the eighth-grade level. DISCUSSION: This study indicates that PEMs on rotator cuff injuries from top orthopedic institutions are too complex for many Americans, with readability levels ranging from 8.5 to 16th grade, well above the CDC-recommended eighth-grade level. The research highlights a widespread issue with high reading levels across healthcare information and underscores the need for healthcare providers to adopt patient-centered communication strategies to improve comprehension and accessibility.
conclusionPEMs on rotator cuff injuries from leading orthopedic institutions often have a reading level beyond that of many Americans, exceeding guidelines from the NIH and CDC that recommend PEMs be written at an eighth-grade reading level. To increase accessibility, enhance healthcare literacy, and improve patient outcomes, institutions should simplify these materials to meet recommended readability standards.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.