Transplant center websites not accessible for many patients in the US
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Transplant center websites demonstrate inequity in terms of language and literacy accessibility for diverse populations in the United States, according to research presented the American Society of Transplant Surgeons Winter Symposium.
“Only about 20% of [end-stage renal disease] ESRD patients are wait-listed for transplant,” Robert Olmeda Barrientos, BA, of the University of California Riverside School of Medicine, said during a virtual presentation. “When you look at the recipients, almost half of all kidney donations go to white patients. Minority patients are at a disadvantage, receiving less than 20% of living kidney donations compared with white patients.
With an increasing amount of people using the internet, we believe patients are further disadvantaged if they are unable to access resources online. The purpose of our project was to measure the accessibility of kidney transplant center websites.”
For the study, researchers assessed 227 kidney transplant center websites and examined the following three primary components: language, readability ease and grade level.
According to Olmeda Barrientos, 21% of the U.S. population speaks a language other than English at home. Despite this, researchers found less than 10% of the assessed websites provided an alternative language or non-English resources.
In addition, they determined the average readability score to be on the college level, with the average grade level being that of a high school senior.
“Transplant center websites are missing the mark for recommended reading levels,” Olmeda Barrientos concluded of the findings. “Our goal is to make recommendations on how to make these websites more accessible for all patients and their families.”
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Olmeda Barrientos R, et al. Poster 53. Presented at: ASTS Winter Symposium. Jan. 14-16, 2021 (virtual meeting).
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