PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the readability of online patient education materials among academic otolaryngology departments in the mid-Atlantic region, with the purpose of determining whether these commonly used online resources were written at a level readily understood by the average American. METHODS: A readability analysis of online patient education materials was performed using several commonly used readability assessments including the Flesch Reading Ease Score, the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook, the New Dale-Chall Test, the Coleman-Liau Index, the New Fog Count, the Raygor Readability Estimate, the FORCAST test, and the Fry Graph. RESULTS: Most patient education materials from these programs were written at or above an 11th grade reading level, considerably above National Institutes of Health guidelines for recommended difficulty. CONCLUSIONS: Patient educational materials from academic otolaryngology Web sites are written at too difficult a reading level for a significant portion of patients and can be simplified.
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to compare the readability of online patient education materials among academic otolaryngology departments in the mid-Atlantic region, with the purpose of determining whether these commonly used online resources were written at a level readily understood by the average American. METHODS: A readability analysis of online patient education materials was performed using several commonly used readability assessments including the Flesch Reading Ease Score, the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, Gunning Frequency of Gobbledygook, the New Dale-Chall Test, the Coleman-Liau Index, the New Fog Count, the Raygor Readability Estimate, the FORCAST test, and the Fry Graph. RESULTS: Most patient education materials from these programs were written at or above an 11th grade reading level, considerably above National Institutes of Health guidelines for recommended difficulty. CONCLUSIONS:Patient educational materials from academic otolaryngology Web sites are written at too difficult a reading level for a significant portion of patients and can be simplified.
Authors: Stephen A Rosenberg; David M Francis; Craig R Hullet; Zachary S Morris; Jeffrey V Brower; Bethany M Anderson; Kristin A Bradley; Michael F Bassetti; Randall J Kimple Journal: Pract Radiat Oncol Date: 2016-08-01
Authors: Stephen A Rosenberg; David Francis; Craig R Hullett; Zachary S Morris; Michael M Fisher; Jeffrey V Brower; Kristin A Bradley; Bethany M Anderson; Michael F Bassetti; Randall J Kimple Journal: J Natl Compr Canc Netw Date: 2016-06 Impact factor: 11.908