Evaluating Online and Offline Health Information With the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool: Protocol for a Systematic Review

Background
The Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT) is a reliable and validated instrument for assessing the understandability and actionability of patient education materials. It has been applied across diverse cultural and linguistic contexts, enabling cross-field and cross-national material quality comparisons. Accumulated evidence from studies using the PEMAT over the past decade underscores its potential impact on patient and public action.


Objective
This systematic review aims to investigate how the quality of patient education materials has been assessed using the PEMAT.


Methods
This review protocol follows PRISMA-P (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses Protocols) guidelines. PubMed, MEDLINE, Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL), APA PsycInfo, and Web of Science Core Collection will be searched systematically for articles published since September 2014. Two independent reviewers will conduct the search to yield a list of relevant studies based on the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Rayyan QCRI software will be used for screening and data extraction.


Results
The results will be included in the full systematic review, which is expected to start in September 2024 and be completed to be submitted for publication by early 2025.


Conclusions
The findings are expected to identify the quality of materials evaluated by the PEMAT and the areas under evaluation. This review can also highlight gaps that exist in research and practice for improving the understandability and actionability of the materials, offering deeper insights into how existing materials can facilitate patient and public action.


International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)
PRR1-10.2196/63489