Readability of Online Sources Regarding Meniscal Tears

Area of Science:

• Orthopedics
• Medical Communication
• Health Literacy

Background:

• Meniscal injuries are common in active individuals.
• Patients frequently use the internet for injury information and treatment decisions.
• Effective patient communication requires a reading level of eighth grade or lower, a standard often not met by medical information.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the reading level and content of online information regarding meniscal injuries.
• To assess the suitability of patient-facing medical content for general understanding.

Main Methods:

• Searched three major search engines using keywords: "meniscus tear," "meniscus tear treatment," and "knee pain meniscus."
• Analyzed the top 10 results from each search, identifying 23 unique websites.
• Evaluated websites for source, word count, reading level (grade level and Flesch-Kincaid), and content elements (ads, diagrams, treatment options, accuracy).

Main Results:

• The average reading grade level of analyzed websites was 11.14, significantly higher than the recommended eighth grade.
• Flesch-Kincaid reading ease scores averaged 55.31, indicating difficult readability.
• Public education sources had the highest readability level (average grade 11.6), exceeding private and academic sources.

Conclusions:

• Online resources for meniscal injuries often present information at a reading level inaccessible to many patients.
• There is a critical need to improve the clarity and readability of health information for meniscal injuries.
• Efforts are required to ensure patients can easily understand information about their knee pain and treatment options.