Patient-orientated web sites on laryngectomy: is their information readable?

Area of Science:

• Health Sciences
• Medical Informatics
• Patient Education

Background:

• Patient information websites are a common resource for individuals seeking health information.
• Laryngectomy patients require accessible and understandable information regarding their condition and treatment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the readability levels of online patient information resources for laryngectomy.
• To determine if website accreditation impacts information accessibility.

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study analyzed the first 20 Google search results for "laryngectomy" containing patient information.
• Readability was measured using the Flesch Readability Ease (FRE) and Flesch-Kincaid (FKRG) scores, calculating UK reading age.
• Website accreditation by online readability organizations was assessed as a secondary outcome.

Main Results:

• The median reading age for laryngectomy websites was 11.7 years, with scores ranging from 7.8 to 14.7 years.
• Only 20% of websites met the recommended "Easy" or "Very Easy" readability levels for the general UK population.
• Accredited websites demonstrated significantly better readability scores compared to non-accredited sites (FRE: p = 0.007, FKRG: p = 0.012).

Conclusions:

• Many online laryngectomy patient information resources exhibit poor readability, potentially hindering patient understanding.
• Website accreditation correlates with improved readability, suggesting a role for quality control in patient information.
• Enhancing the readability of online health information is essential for effective patient education and engagement.