Online patient education: results of a content analysis of disempowering language in patient education materials about type 1 diabetes.

Authors

Gwen Geiger Wolfe, Sally Bowler-Hill, Lisa M Acuff, Orrin B Myers

Published in

Medical reference services quarterly. Pages 1-18. Jul 10, 2026. Epub Jul 10, 2026.

Abstract

Global health organizations urge the use of empowering language in patient education for type 1 diabetes (T1D). Twenty-nine online patient education materials (PEMs) were assessed in the first phase of a content analysis examining how disempowering terminology is used in both frequency and context. All of the PEMs used disempowering terms, were primarily from the U.S. (70%), and authored by health care providers (34%). Imperative terms carried the highest word count (54%) and mean occurrence rates. Results suggest online PEMs may benefit from regular updates to improve health literacy, proving to be a growing area of focus for health librarians.

PMID:
42429036
Bibliographic data and abstract were imported from PubMed on 10 Jul 2026.

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