Original Research
Spanish Language Resources for Patients with Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip

https://doi.org/10.55275/JPOSNA-2022-472Get rights and content
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open access

Abstract

Background: In the United States, the majority of patient educational material is written in English, thereby limiting the available resources for the growing Spanish-speaking population. Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) commonly affects Hispanic patients, and patient education is integral to the successful management of this condition. This study aims to analyze the readability and availability of Spanish and English patient education on DDH provided by the U.S. News and World Report top 50 pediatric orthopaedic hospitals and the major professional societies.

Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis by determining the proportion of the top 50 pediatric orthopaedic hospitals and major professional societies providing online English and Spanish resources. We also assessed the readability of the information provided via three measures of readability. Descriptive, univariate, and multivariate analyses were performed.

Results: Of the top 50 hospitals ranked by U.S. News, 84% (42/50) provided online English language patient education on DDH. In contrast, only 36% (18/50) of the hospitals provided online Spanish language patient education. All of the major orthopaedic professional societies provided English resources, but only two out of three professional societies provided Spanish resources. There were no significant differences in the rates of Spanish language resources and their readability scores between states that had a greater or less than 20% Spanish-speaking population (p>0.05). However, English language materials consistently ranked higher in grade level (9th grade vs. 7-8th grade, p<0.01) and readability measures (11.70 vs. 10.18, p<0.01) than Spanish materials on DDH.

Conclusion: The availability of online Spanish language patient education resources is limited, despite the growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States. In States with >20% of the population who are Spanish speaking, there was no significant difference in the available Spanish language resources compared to States with a <20% Spanish speaking population, indicating a discordance between educational materials and patient populations. The readability of both English and Spanish language written materials continues to be above the recommended level for patient education.

Level of Evidence: Level III

Key Concepts

  • There is limited online Spanish language patient education on developmental dysplasia of the hip, despite the growing Spanish-speaking population in the United States.

  • There is no difference in the availability of Spanish language resources offered by hospitals in States with a greater proportion of Spanish-speaking patients compared to those with a smaller proportion of Spanish-speaking patients.

  • The patient education material that is available is above the recommended level for patient education in both English and Spanish translations.

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