Purpose: About one-third of cancer patients experience adverse cardiovascular events associated with cancer treatment. High-quality information about this risk can prepare patients and reduce anxiety. We aimed to systematically identify Australian online information resources about cardiovascular health after cancer and assess the readability, understandability, actionability, and cultural relevance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients.
Methods: The need for this project was identified by the Pathways to Healthy Hearts Cardio-oncology Consumer Advisory Group. We systematic searched online source and assessed resource eligibility using pre-defined criteria. For eligible resources, we (i) summarised the content and assessed (ii) readability using two validated measures (Flesh Reading Ease Score and the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook), (iii) understandability and actionability using the Patient Educaiton Materials Assessment Tool, and (iv) cultural relevance for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people using 7 criteria devised by the research team.
Results: We identified 17 online resources addressing cardiovascular health after cancer; 3 focused solely on cardiovascular health and 14 dedicated between <1% and 48% of the word count to this topic. On average, the resources provided some level of information about 3 of 12 pre-defined content areas. Overall, 17% of the resources were deemed readable for the average Australian adult (reading level at Grade 8 or lower), 41% deemed understandable (score 70 or higher), and only 18% had moderate actionability (score 50 or higher). None of the resources were considered culturally relevant for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Conclusions: Our consumer-driven project confirms a need for accessible and high-quality information resources about cardiovascular health after cancer. The development of such resources requires robust evidence on cardiovascular disease after cancer for Australians generally and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people specifically. Culturally relevant resources must be designed in partnership with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander patients, families, and carers.