A Survey of Patient Comprehension of Readily Accessible Online Educational Material Regarding Plastic Surgery Procedures

Hoppe, Ian C.; Ahuja, Naveen K.; Ingargiola, Michael J.; Granick, Mark S.

doi:10.1177/1090820x13480013

Cited by 25 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 18 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The results of our study indicate that online patient resources for melanoma exceed the recommended reading levels for the average adult American [17], which is consistent with previously published data in other specialties [15,[24][25][26][27][28][29][33][34][35][36][37][38]. As opposed to previous publications, a popular internet search engine was used in which lay language was used to simulate the average adult American's search on melanoma.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Readability of online patient resources for melanoma

Ibrahim

Vargas²,

Koolen³

et al. 2016

Melanoma Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Medical information is often difficult for patients to understand. With specialized vocabulary and complex pathophysiology, even well-educated adults have trouble interpreting information about their healthcare. The average American adult reads at a seventh-grade level. In light of the inherent complexity of health information, the American Medical Association and National Institutes of Health have recommended that information for patients should be written at a sixth-grade level. The goal of this study was to evaluate the most commonly used online patient resources about melanoma in the context of these recommendations. A web search for 'melanoma' identified the 10 most-accessed websites. Location filters were disabled and sponsored results were excluded to avoid inadvertent search bias. All relevant, patient-directed articles were downloaded and formatted into plain text. Pictures, videos, links, advertisements, and references were removed. Readability analysis was carried out using 10 established tests, both overall and arranged by parent website for comparison. A total of 130 articles for melanoma information were identified. The overall mean reading grade level was 12.6. All sites exceeded the recommended sixth-grade level. Secondary analysis of articles grouped by website indicated a range of readability across sites from 9.9 (high school freshman) to 14.9 (university sophomore). Online patient resources for melanoma uniformly exceed the recommended reading level and may be too difficult for many Americans to understand. The range of readability among websites may indicate an opportunity for physicians to direct patients to more appropriate resources for their level of health literacy.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Previously published articles have examined the readability of current medical literature, but are not reflective of true patient searches in the English language [24][25][26][27][28][29]. Furthermore, no published data are available on the readability of current online patient education materials for melanoma.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Readability of online patient resources for melanoma

Ibrahim

Vargas²,

Koolen³

et al. 2016

Melanoma Research

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Decisional aids are educational tools that are becoming increasingly popular in order to reduce this difficulty in patients. Several studies have shown their value in aesthetic breast reconstruction populations [4][5][6]. However, only few randomized studies exist in breast cancer patient populations [7,8].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Randomized Controlled Trial to Assess the Use of a Virtual Decisional Aid to Improve Knowledge and Patient Satisfaction in Women Considering Breast Reconstruction Following Mastectomy

Varelas¹,

Egro²,

Evankovich³

et al. 2020

Cureus

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

“…17 Previous studies published in the medical literature have looked at the readability of content from professional sites and some public sites, and have suggested that the information was frequently too difficult for the average patient to read. [18][19][20][21][22][23] Most of these studies, however, were conducted a number of years ago, do not generalize to real patient searches, and used only a few of the available and well-established readability analyses. As the Internet and its accessibility continue to expand, critical evaluation of the information available to patients is important both for content improvement and for physicianpatient counseling.…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%