Utilizing Artificial Intelligence to Increase the Readability of Patient Education Materials in Pediatric Otolaryngology: Comment

Dear Editor, we would like to comment on “Utilizing Artificial Intelligence to Increase the Readability of Patient Education Materials in Pediatric Otolaryngology.” ¹ The goal of this study is admirable, as it focuses on enhancing access to educational materials for pediatric otolaryngology patients. However, despite the novel potential of using a natural language processing (NLP) tool such as ChatGPT, this study raises some critical concerns about its content and techniques. First, picking materials from only the AAO-HNS and 7 children's hospitals may create bias because they do not represent the whole range of pediatric otolaryngology resources. Furthermore, utilizing a single AI model (ChatGPT 3.5) without comparing its performance to other NLP tools reduces the results' generalizability. How do various models and approaches provide diverse outcomes? Can the use of extra reading ability testing tools increase the assessment's reliability?

Furthermore, while this study found a decline in reading comprehension, reading comprehension testing methods such as the Flesch-Kincaid calculator may not adequately capture the variation in comprehension across juvenile patients and their families. Reading aptitude tests generally focus on sentence length and word difficulty, but they may ignore contextual elements that influence comprehension, such as knowledge with medical terminology. What qualitative measures can be used to more thoroughly assess patient comprehension and engagement? The redesigned materials' effectiveness was assessed through focus groups and family surveys.

Future directions for this research should emphasize the need for a broader range of patient education materials, including those from various health systems and community organizations. This extension has the potential to develop a more comprehensive knowledge of access across socioeconomic groups. Furthermore, adding comments from health professionals and patients into the content development process can improve the relevance and clarity of educational materials. How might interdisciplinary collaboration enhance the development and evaluation of these resources?

In terms of novelty, future research could consider using insights from cognitive psychology and linguistics to incorporate user-centered design principles into the development of patient-facing educational materials, which could include not only language enhancements but also the format, layout, and visual aids used. Furthermore, analyzing the long-term effects of basic materials on patient outcomes, treatment adherence, and overall satisfaction would provide a reliable assessment of the success of these interventions. Addressing these difficulties has the potential to dramatically advance pediatric otolaryngology patient education and ensuring that families receive the necessary support in an accessible and actionable format.