Kevin Koo|Ronald L. Yap
How Readable Is BPH Treatment Information on the Internet? Assessing Barriers to Literacy in Prostate Health
Dartmouth–Hitchcock Medical Center|Concord Hospital
information benign prostatic hyperplasia bph become increasingly accessible internet though ability find material encouraging readability impact informing patient decision making known evaluate readability internetbased information bph context website ownership health net certification three search engines queried daily 1 month bphrelated keywords website ownership data health net certification status verified three readability analyses performed smog test dalechall readability formula fry readability graph adjusted smog calculation performed reduce overestimation medical jargon total 270 searches 52 websites met inclusion criteria mean smog grade 106 sd 14 102 adjustment mean dalechall score 91 sd 06 grades 13 15 mean fry graph coordinates 173 syllables 51 sentences corresponded grade 15 seven sites 13 average adult reading level based smog none sites qualified based tests readability significantly poorer academic versus commercial sites health netcertified versus noncertified sites conclusion online information bph treatment markedly exceeds reading comprehension us adults websites maintained academic institutions certified health net standard difficult readability efforts improve literacy respect urological health target content readability independent reliability