Title : From ABCs to PhDs: Testing chatGPT’s heartbeat for bridging educational gaps in patient care
Abstract:
Background: Heart failure education is crucial for improving patient outcomes, yet barriers persist due to varying levels of health literacy. Patients with lower literacy often struggle with understanding complex medical concepts, impairing medication adherence and disease management. Websites like the American Heart Association (AHA) provide high-quality information but may not address individual literacy needs. ChatGPT, an AI language model, offers the potential to tailor educational responses to diverse literacy levels while maintaining accuracy.
Objective: This study aims to evaluate ChatGPT's effectiveness in delivering heart failure education tailored to low, average, and advanced health literacy levels. The research assesses the readability, accuracy, and adaptability of ChatGPT-generated responses compared to gold-standard FAQs from the AHA website.
Methods: Compared with FAQs on heart failure from the AHA website, ChatGPT responses were generated for three predefined health literacy levels: low (e.g., high school non-graduate), average (e.g., high school graduate), and advanced (e.g., healthcare provider). Standardized prompts were developed to simulate interactions at each literacy level. The responses were analyzed for:
- Readability: Measured by the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level.
- Accuracy: Validated by board-certified heart failure specialists.
Results: Preliminary findings indicate that ChatGPT effectively tailors’ responses to align with the simulated literacy levels. For lower literacy prompts, responses featured simpler language and reduced jargon while retaining accuracy. Advanced literacy prompts elicited in-depth explanations with medical terminology. Readability scores and content analysis revealed significant adaptability, with consistent factual alignment with AHA content.
Conclusion: This research highlights ChatGPT's potential as a scalable, customizable tool for heart failure education, capable of assisting in bridging gaps in health literacy. By complementing traditional resources like the AHA, ChatGPT could enhance patient comprehension and empower informed decision-making in healthcare settings.
