Comprehensiveness of online sources for patient education on hereditary hearing impairment

Abstract

IntroductionThe present study aimed at investigating the readability of online sources on hereditary hearing impairment (HHI).MethodsIn August 2022, the search terms “hereditary hearing impairment”, “genetic deafness”, hereditary hearing loss”, and “sensorineural hearing loss of genetic origin” were entered into the Google search engine and educational materials were determined. The first 50 websites were determined for each search. The double hits were removed and websites with only graphics or tables were excluded. Websites were categorized into either a professional society, a clinical practice or a general health information website. The readability tests to evaluate the websites included: Flesch Reading Ease, Flesch–Kincaid grade level, Gunning–Fog Index, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook, Coleman–Liau Index, Automated Readability Index.ResultsTwentynine websites were included and categorized as from 4 professional societies, 11 from clinical practices and 14 providing general information. All analyzed websites required higher reading levels than sixth grade. On average 12–16 years of education is required to read and understand the websites focused on HHI. Although general health information websites have better readability, the difference was not statistically significant.DiscussionThe readability scores of every type of online educational materials on HHI are above the recommended level indicating that not all patients and parents can comprehend the information they seek for on these websites.

The Readability of Patient‐Facing Social Media Posts on Common Otolaryngologic Diagnoses

“…Our findings here are, to our knowledge, the most comprehensive examination of the readability of patient‐facing information presented on social media within otolaryngology. They add to an existing body of literature that suggests that online and written patient educational materials are written at a reading level that is too high for many patients to comprehend 15,18,30,39,41 . Further, they show that social media, which many presume to be easily understandable and accessible to all patients, is still incomprehensible for many.…”

“…Except for text in images on Facebook and Instagram, all platforms and modalities were written at a more than sixth-grade level, with some, such as captions on Instagram, as high as a 12th-grade level, similar to that in traditional online patient education material. 15,18,[39][40][41] There is little prior research examining the readability of information presented on social media. A recent study by Chen et al examined the readability of articles linked on Twitter with the #PlasticSurgery tag, and found that the mean reading levels for linked journal articles were over 17 on the SMOG scale, while linked articles written for patient education were more easily readable at 13.9.…”

“…They add to an existing body of literature that suggests that online and written patient educational materials are written at a reading level that is too high for many patients to comprehend. 15,18,30,39,41 Further, they show that social media, which many presume to be easily understandable and accessible to all patients, is still incomprehensible for many. The medical community must continue efforts at ensuring that patient educational materials are comprehensible by patients and assist patients in playing an active role in their healthcare decisions.…”

“…However, we found in this study that the medical information presented on social media platforms about common otolaryngology diagnoses was written at a higher reading level than recommended. Except for text in images on Facebook and Instagram, all platforms and modalities were written at a more than sixth‐grade level, with some, such as captions on Instagram, as high as a 12th‐grade level, similar to that in traditional online patient education material 15,18,39‐41 …”

Comprehensiveness of online sources for patient education on otosclerosis

“…FKGL scores of professional-oriented websites were found to be higher than patient-oriented websites. Furthermore, in our previous study, hereditary hearing loss was researched on this aspect and all analyzed websites required higher reading levels than the sixth grade ( 21 ). In other fields of medicine, similar results are reported regarding readability ( 22 – 24 ).…”