Is it easy to understand breast cancer treatment information on WeChat public accounts? Readability assessment on text and non-text factors

To evaluate the readability of breast cancer treatment information published in WeChat public accounts (WPAs) and recommend how to compile highly readable treatment information. In April 2021, using the search term "breast cancer", we searched WPAs on the Sogou search engine and WeChat Mobile platforms and then selected up to four latest articles on breast cancer therapy from each. We applied linguistic analysis techniques to assess readability from text factors. The non-text factors used the Chinese version of the Suitability Assessment of Materials (SAM-C) instrument. Two researchers rated the articles independently. This study chose 136 articles from 37 WPAs. For text factors of readability, the mean Chinese language difficulty coefficient was 58.80 ± 8.70, indicating that the articles were challenging to read. For non-text factors, the mean SAM-C score was 52.12 ± 13.38, rated adequate. Among the dimensions, the layout and typography dimension scored the highest (74.63 ± 16.22), which was superior, followed by cultural appropriateness (58.64 ± 20.04), content (54.50 ± 21.77), learning stimulation and motivation (48.90 ± 23.24), and literacy demand (48.16 ± 17.58). The graphics dimension scored the lowest, with a score of 39.19 ± 17.60, and was deemed not suitable. The readability of breast cancer treatment information on WPAs is not highly rated and could be enhanced by text and non-text factors. The owners of WPAs should pay due attention to readability before releasing health information to ensure equal access and understanding of information by various users to achieve universal accessibility.