Contrasting readability and availability of Spanish language with English language patient education materials

Abstract

Spanish is the leading non-English language in the United States, with more than 41 million speakers. The Hispanic population has one of the lowest health literacy rates. Amongst Spanish speakers, limited English proficiency can contribute to poorer health outcomes and greater health disparities, such as lower quality of care received. We sought to assess the availability and readability scores of Spanish-language dermatologic patient education materials (PEMs) compared with those materials in English.