Quality and readability of online patient information regarding sclerotherapy for venous malformations

Pass, Jonathan H.; Patel, Amani; Stuart, Sam; Barnacle, Alex; Patel, Premal A.

doi:10.1007/s00247-018-4074-3

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…Numerous studies have been published assessing the readability of patient education materials, with a staggering trend towards texts written above the recommended grade level. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] Our online queries yielded an average readability level that greatly surpassed the recommended 6th grade reading level set by the NIH and the AMA. Among the four different readability formulas, the lowest average readability level was equivalent to an 11th grade reading level.…”

Section: Discussion and Conclusion Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

“…Although a few patterns have been published regarding the difficult readability of non-profit websites, when examining the multitude of readability analyses, no clear trend emerges. [11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22] The Urology Care Foundation, a non-profit webpage, stands out as one of the lowest scored pages and thus was easily comprehensible. In a similar study, Routh et al compared internet sources between common and uncommon pediatric urology topics and found that webpages on uncommon topics like exstrophy had inferior accuracy and completeness.…”

Section: Discussion and Conclusion Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Clear as Mud: Readability Scores in Cloacal Exstrophy Literature and Its Treatment

Haffar,

Hirsch,

Morrill

et al. 2024

RRU

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This study examines the readability of online medical information regarding cloacal exstrophy (CE). We hypothesize that inappropriate levels of comprehension are required in these resources, leading to poor understanding and confusion amongst caregivers. Methods: The Google and Bing search engines were used to search the terms "cloacal exstrophy" and "cloacal exstrophy treatment". The first 100 results for each were collected. Each webpage was analyzed for readability using four independent validated scoring systems: the Gunning-Fog index (GFI), SMOG grade (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook), Dale-Chall index (DCI), and the Flesch-Kincaid grade (FKG). Results: Forty-seven unique webpages fit the inclusion criteria. Mean readability scores across all websites were GFI, 14.6; SMOG score, 10.8; DCI, 9.3; and FKG, 11.8, correlating to adjusted grade levels of college sophomore, 11th grade, college, and 11th grade, respectively. There were significant differences across all readability formulas. Non-profit websites were significantly less readable than institutional and commercial webpages (GFI p = 0.012, SMOG p = 0.018, DCI p = 0.021, FKG p = 0.0093). Conclusion: Caregiver-directed health information regarding CE and its treatment available online is written at the 11th grade reading level or above. Online resources pertaining to CE must be simplified to be effective.Plain Language Summary: Cloacal exstrophy is a rare severe birth defect that does not always show up in prenatal screening. Parents are often unfamiliar with this disease and must learn about the disease, procedures, and outcomes their child may have in a short amount of time. Online medical information has been recommended to be written at a 6th grade reading level so that the general public may understand. The authors of this study wanted to investigate if average websites that parents might find using common search engines would be easily understood. The authors used different search phrases on Google and Bing search engines, and used them to look at the top 100 search results for each. The text from each page was graded based on 4 different readability scoring systems. The authors found 47 unique webpages that matched the criteria and found that most pages had reading levels of about 11th grade-college level. Due to its rarity, the information available about cloacal exstrophy are similar and would likely be poorly understood by most parents. Hospital institutions and non-profit exstrophy programs need to make a concerted effort to work together to develop simple yet helpful information regarding this disease.

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Section: Discussion and Conclusion Discussionmentioning

confidence: 78%

Section: Discussion and Conclusion Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Clear as Mud: Readability Scores in Cloacal Exstrophy Literature and Its Treatment

Haffar,

Hirsch,

Morrill

et al. 2024

RRU

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…Physician websites also scored the lowest overall quality (mean 2.72) and journal articles scored the highest (4.00) (►Fig. 3).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…An estimated 41% of the global population is connected to the Internet, and 80% of US households have access to the Internet. 1,2 It has been well documented that a growing number of patients are researching their health concerns online before seeing a health care provider [3][4][5][6] This poses a challenge to patients tasked with deciphering complex information, and to physicians who provide medical guidance in conjunct with online health care information. [3][4][5]7 Thus, health care providers are faced with this question: What kind of medical information is being provided to patients who research health concerns online?…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

All I Have Learned, I Have Learned from Google: Why Today's Facial Rejuvenation Patients are Prone to Misinformation, and the Steps We can take to Contend with Unreliable Information

2019

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A growing number of patients are seeking answers for their health concerns online. This study assesses the reliability, quality, and readability of online materials patients have access to through the Internet and evaluates the social media presence of information providers. An online search was conducted for facial rejuvenation by utilizing three ubiquitously used web search engines: Google, Bing, and Yahoo. The first 25 result pages were collected from each search engine, and exclusionary criteria were applied to exclude online stores and advertisements. Website reliability and quality were assessed via the DISCERN method. Readability was measured through six measurements: Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), Gunning Fox score, SMOG index, Coleman Liau index, and automated readability index. Social media presence and profile followers on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were determined to gauge social media presence. Exclusionary criteria yielded 41 unique websites, with the majority of websites authored by physicians (54%) followed by professional organizations (19%). The DISCERN method demonstrated that journal websites yielded the highest overall quality (4.00) and physician websites yielded the lowest (2.72). Readability analysis demonstrated that online forums proved the most challenging to read, and encyclopedia articles were the least challenging. Physician websites maintained the highest social media presence (95%) followed by professional organizations (75%). However, professional organizations had more social media followers in comparison to physician websites. Physician websites and professional organizations overwhelmingly command social media presence compared to other information providers and provide information with serious deficits in reliability and quality. A strong majority of online information also surpasses the health care literacy of patients. This poses a serious concern for physicians who need to provide and guide patients to high quality and reliable information.

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“…Consequently, patients find medical images difficult to interpret and do not enhance understanding [2]. Although many patients access additional information about their condition on the internet, this information is also often of poor quality [28].…”

Section: Patient Educationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patient-Specific 3D Printed Models for Education, Research and Surgical Simulation

Nikitichev¹,

Patel²,

Avery³

et al. 2018

3D Printing

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3D printing techniques are increasingly used in engineering science, allowing the use of computer aided design (CAD) to rapidly and inexpensively create prototypes and components. There is also growing interest in the application of these techniques in a clinical context for the creation of anatomically accurate 3D printed models from medical images for therapy planning, research, training and teaching applications. However, the techniques and tools available to create 3D models of anatomical structures typically require specialist knowledge in image processing and mesh manipulation to achieve. In this book chapter we describe the advantages of 3D printing for patient education, healthcare professional education, interventional planning and implant development. We also describe how to use medical image data to segment volumes of interest, refine and prepare for 3D printing. We will use a lung as an example. The information in this section will allow anyone to create own 3D printed models from medical image data. This knowledge will be of use to anyone with little or no previous experience in medical image processing who have identified a potential application for 3D printing in a medical context, or those with a more general interest in the techniques.

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Quality and readability of online patient information regarding sclerotherapy for venous malformations

Abstract: Online information regarding sclerotherapy for venous malformations is heterogeneous in quality and breadth of information, and does not meet readability recommendations for patient information. Radiologists should be aware of and account for this when meeting patients.

Cited by 10 publications

References 25 publications

Clear as Mud: Readability Scores in Cloacal Exstrophy Literature and Its Treatment

Clear as Mud: Readability Scores in Cloacal Exstrophy Literature and Its Treatment

All I Have Learned, I Have Learned from Google: Why Today's Facial Rejuvenation Patients are Prone to Misinformation, and the Steps We can take to Contend with Unreliable Information

Patient-Specific 3D Printed Models for Education, Research and Surgical Simulation

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