Paul Fitzsimmons|Benedict Michael|JL Hulley|Gill Scott
A readability assessment of online Parkinson’s disease information
Walton Centre|University of Liverpool|Liverpool Hospital|University of Liverpool|Royal Liverpool University Hospital|Liverpool Hospital|Royal Liverpool University Hospital|University of Liverpool|Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospital NHS Trust
parkinsons disease pd common progressive incurable chronic neurodegenerative condition wide variety motor nonmotor features often requiring complex treatment regimesas chronic diseases patient education essential improve patient understanding condition treatmentin addition information patients receive healthcare professionals many patients seek information independently internet one commonly used source informationan abundance pdrelated information available internet google search parkinsons disease returning 4630000 webpagesincreasing numbers patients access healthcare information via internet estimated 98 million americans searching online health information 2006 1 many estimates prevalence internet use seeking healthcare information appear without peer review online private commercial releases4 abstract background patients increasingly use internet access health informationinadequate health literacy common frequently limits patient comprehension healthcare literaturewe aimed assess readability online consumerorientated parkinsons disease pd information using two validated measuresmethod identified 100 highest ranked consumerorientated pd webpages determined webpage readability using fleschkincaid simple measure gobbledygook smog formulaeresults none webpages analysed complied current readability guidelinescommercial websites significantly easier read p0035the fleschkincaid formula significantly underestimated reading difficulty p00001ease reading correlated weakly search engine ranking r035p00004conclusions 1 top 100 pd information webpages fully comprehensible average adultsimple measure gobbledygook preferred measure webpage readabilityparkinsons disease information websites require major text revision comply readability guidelines comprehensible average patient