Matthew R. Edmunds|Robert J. Barry|Alastair K. Denniston
Readability Assessment of Online Ophthalmic Patient Information
Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre|University of Birmingham|Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre|University of Birmingham|Birmingham and Midland Eye Centre|University of Birmingham|University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust
h3importanceh3 patients increasingly use internet access information related disease poor health literacy known impact negatively medical outcomes multiple agencies recommended patientoriented literature written fourth sixthgrade 912 years age reading level assist understanding readability online patientoriented materials related ophthalmic diagnoses yet known h3objectiveh3 assess readability online literature specifically range ophthalmic conditions h3design settingh3 body text top 10 patientoriented websites 16 different ophthalmic diagnoses covering full range ophthalmic subspecialties analyzed readability source united kingdom vs nonunited kingdom profit vs commercial appropriateness sightimpaired readers h3main outcomes measuresh3 four validated readability formulas used flesch reading ease score fres fleschkincaid grade level fkgl simple measure gobbledygook smog gunning fog index gfog data compared mannwhitney test 2 groups kruskalwallis test 2 groups correlation assessed spearmaniri h3resultsh3 none 160 webpages readability scores within published guidelines 83 assessed difficult readability notforprofit webpages significantly greater length commercial webpages ipi 02 ukbased webpages slightly superior readability scores compared nonuk webpages ipi 004 toipi lt 001 depending readability formula used webpages evaluated 34 included facility adjust text size assist visually impaired readers h3conclusions relevanceh3 knowledge first study assess readability patientfocused webpages specifically range ophthalmic diagnoses keeping previous studies medical conditions determined readability scores inferior recommended irrespective measure used although readability one aspect well patientoriented webpage may comprehended recommend use readability scoring producing resources future minimum readability policies inclusion facilities within webpages maximize viewing potential visually impaired readers important ensure online ophthalmic patient information accessible broadest audience possible