Both English- and Spanish-Language Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction Online Patient Education Materials Are Written at Higher-Than-Recommended Reading Levels.

Purpose: To examine the overall reading levels of anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction online patient education materials (OPEMs) written in English and Spanish. Methods: We conducted Google searches for OPEMs using "ACL surgery" and " Results: English-language OPEMs showed a higher mean overall grade level than Spanish-language OPEMs (10.48 ± 1.86 vs 8.64 ± 1.22, Conclusions: Although Spanish-language OPEMs were written at a lower reading level, average readability for both English- and Spanish-language OPEMs was significantly higher than the recommended level. Across both languages, only a single English-language webpage met the American Medical Association-recommended sixth-grade reading level. More Spanish-language articles were written at or below the average adult reading level in the United States. Clinical Relevance: It is imperative that patient educational materials be written at a reading level that is understood by the most patients. This is especially true for OPEMs, when a medical provider is not present to answer questions. Therefore, it is important to evaluate the reading level of OPEMs to determine whether they are written at an appropriate level for the best patient understanding.