Assessment of Online Patient Education Material About Dysphagia

To examine quality, readability, understandability, and actionability of English-language online educational materials about dysphagia. A Google search of "dysphagia" and related terms was conducted. Web page quality and accountability were measured using HON and URAC certification seals, the DISCERN instrument, and JAMA benchmark criteria. Understandability and actionability were assessed with the Patient Education Materials Assessment Tool for Printed Material (PEMAT-P). Readability was assessed using the Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (F-KGL), Gunning Fog (FOG), and the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) scores using dedicated readability software. Fifty web pages were analyzed. Seventeen web pages displayed a HON or URAC seal. DISCERN scores ranged from 17 to 50 (Mdn = 25.00; IQR = 32.25-21.00). Of the JAMA benchmark criteria, 88% of web pages met the disclosure criterion, while only 22% met the authorship, 20% met the attribution, and 16% met the currency criteria. PEMAT-P understandability and actionability scores were 69.38% ± 11.14% and 28.58% ± 22.19%, respectively. Readability scores, on average, exceeded the recommended grade reading levels for health information (FRE 46.34 ± 13.59, F-KGL 10.26 ± 2.29, FOG 12.11 ± 2.08, and SMOG 12.38 ± 1.70). Online materials about dysphagia can be improved by obtaining quality certificates and by including content that is more readable and easier to understand and act upon.