Availability of Online Spanish Language Resources in Academic Hand Surgery.

PURPOSE: Online health information enhances education and connection to care for patients seeking hand surgery in the United States but can be challenging to navigate for patients who speak languages other than English. This study sought to assess the availability and accessibility of online Spanish-language resources at academic hand surgery institutions.

METHODS

We performed a cross-sectional study of 95 institutions offering hand surgery fellowships listed by the American Society for Surgery of the Hand (2024-2025). Institutional websites were evaluated for (1) patient educational content in English and Spanish, (2) language toggle features, (3) availability of language services information, and (4) the proportion of hand surgeon profiles offering Spanish. Readability of carpal tunnel syndrome resources in English and Spanish was assessed using the Fry and Gilliam-Peña-Mountain readability formulas, respectively, and differences were assessed using Student t tests. Associations between Hispanic population and language accessibility features were analyzed using point-biserial correlation.

RESULTS

Of 93 institutional websites included in the analysis, 73.1% offered English patient resources, 18.2% provided language toggle options, 11.8% offered translated Spanish resources, 29% included a link to language assistance services, and 8.6% listed a direct phone number for interpreter access. Among 736 identified hand surgeons, 6.7% listed Spanish as an offered language. State-level Hispanic population was not significantly associated with language accessibility features. At the city level, Hispanic population was significantly associated with presence of a website language toggle (r = 0.27, P = .01) and Spanish-speaking providers (r = 0.32, P = .003). English and Spanish carpal tunnel resources (P = .45) were written above recommended reading levels, with no significant differences between languages.

CONCLUSIONS

Academic hand surgery websites demonstrate limited availability of Spanish-language patient education, language assistance information, and Spanish-speaking providers. Development of language-concordant online resources represents a cost-effective opportunity to promote equitable access to care.

CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study promotes equitable patient education in hand surgery.