Nitin Agarwal|Daniel Feghhi|Raghav Gupta|David R. Hansberry|John C. Quinn|Robert F. Heary|Ira M. Goldstein
A comparative analysis of minimally invasive and open spine surgery patient education resources
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
object internet become widespread source disseminating health information large numbers people case spine surgery well given complexity spinal surgeries important point consider whether resources easily read understood americans average national reading grade level estimated 7th grade present study authors strove assess readability open spine surgery resources minimally invasive spine surgery resources offer suggestions help improve readability patient resources methods online patient education resources downloaded 2013 50 resources representing either traditional open back surgery minimally invasive spine surgery resource assessed using 10 scales readability studio professional edition version 20121 results patient education resources representing traditional open back surgery minimally invasive spine surgery found written level well recommended 6th grade level general minimally invasive spine surgery materials written higher grade level conclusions readability patient education resources spine surgery websites exceeds average reading ability american adult revisions may warranted increase quality patient comprehension resources effectively reach greater patient population