Accessibility, reliability, and usability of neurosurgical resources

Abstract

OBJECTIVE Closing the knowledge gap that exists between patients and health care providers is essential and is facilitated by easy access to patient education materials. Although such information has the potential to be an effective resource, it must be written in a user-friendly and understandable manner, especially when such material pertains to specialized and highly technical fields such as neurological surgery. The authors evaluated the accessibility, usability, and reliability of current educational resources provided by the American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), Healthwise, and the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS). METHODS Online neurosurgical patient education information provided by AANS, Healthwise, and NINDS was evaluated using the LIDA scale, a website quality assessment tool, by medical professionals and nonmedical professionals. A high achieving score is regarded as 90% or greater using the LIDA scale. RESULTS Accessibility scores were 76.7% (AANS), 83.3% (Healthwise), and 75.0% (NINDS). Average usability scores for the AANS, Healthwise, and NINDS were 73.3%, 82.6%, and 82.9%, respectively, when evaluated by medical professionals and 78.5%, 80.7%, and 75.9%, respectively, for nonmedical professionals, respectively. Average reliability scores were 58.5%, 53.3%, 72.6%, respectively, for medical professionals and 70.4%, 66.7%, and 78.5%, respectively, for nonmedical professionals when evaluating the AANS, Healthwise, and NINDS websites. CONCLUSIONS Although organizations like AANS, Healthwise, and NINDS should be commended for their ongoing commitment to provide health care-oriented materials, modification of this material is suggested to improve the patient education value.

Trustworthiness, Readability, and Suitability of Web-Based Information for Stroke Prevention and Self-Management for Korean Americans: Critical Evaluation (Preprint)

“…59.5% of the websites presented graphics without explanation, and 23.8% showed too brief "how to" directions for readers. This finding is similar to the lack of graphics and other non-textual media covering patient education materials in Agarwal et al [28]'s evaluation of educational resources in three stroke-related websites. Images and videos combined with the text can act as supplements to difficult topics covered on the site [28] and increase the ability of the user to understand and retain the material [48].…”

“…This finding is similar to the lack of graphics and other non-textual media covering patient education materials in Agarwal et al [28]'s evaluation of educational resources in three stroke-related websites. Images and videos combined with the text can act as supplements to difficult topics covered on the site [28] and increase the ability of the user to understand and retain the material [48]. Since the medical information is relatively unfamiliar to laypersons, and the reading level is high, step-by-step directions with graphical examples can reduce reading burden of the stroke patients and caregivers.…”

“…Agarwal et al [28] also found in their evaluation of educational resources in three stroke-related websites that users criticized the lack of citations and references for the material and facts provided on all three websites. It is important to present the valid and reliable primary information with the published date and the information sources for health consumers to do right decisionmaking for their health issues [16,28]. It is recommended to scrutinize or peer-review before presenting the information on the website.…”

“…Online health information seekers could be at risk of finding unreliable or inappropriate information from the websites. Incorrect or inappropriate health information can be used in an improper way and cause detrimental outcomes by negatively influence healthcare-related decisions [28,29]. As patients have a wide range of health information literacy, some patients are unable to assess critically or might misinterpret health information [29].…”

Consulting Dr. Google: Quality of Online Resources About Tympanostomy Tube Placement

“…Previous studies have illustrated the heterogeneity of online patient education materials, similar to our findings in this study . The median readability grade level was at the 10th grade level, well above the 7th‐ to 8th‐grade level recommended by the NIH health literacy guidelines for health materials .…”