Evaluation of Quality and Readability of Health Information Websites Identified through India’s Major Search Engines

Raj, Sonika; Sharma, Vishal; Singh, Amarjeet

doi:10.1155/2016/4815285

Cited by 27 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“… Huerta et al [ 18 ] USA Children hospital websites 153 2014 Wide range of websites’ score with no perfect website suggesting room for meaningful improvements. Raj et al [ 61 ] India General health websites 32 2014 Most websites have average quality, especially in usability. Many websites written at high readability levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating hospital websites in Kuwait to improve consumer engagement and access to health information: a cross-sectional analytical study

Alhuwail

AlMeraj

Boujarwah

2018

BMC Med Inform Decis Mak

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BackgroundCurrent advances in information and communication technology have made accessing and obtaining health-related information easier than ever before. Today, many hospital websites use a patient-centric approach to promote engagement and encourage learning for better health-related decision making. However, little is known about the current state of hospital websites in the State of Kuwait. This study aims to evaluate hospital websites in Kuwait and offer recommendations to improve patient engagement and access to health information.MethodsThis study employs a cross-sectional analytical approach to evaluate hospital websites in Kuwait in 2017. The websites of hospitals that provide in-patient services were identified through a structured search. Only active websites that were available in either English or Arabic were considered. The evaluation of the websites involved a combination of automated and expert- based evaluation methods and was performed across four dimensions: Accessibility, Usability, Presence, and Content.ResultsNine hospitals met the inclusion criteria. Most of the websites fell short in all four dimensions. None of the websites passed the accessibility guidelines. The usability of websites varied between hospitals. Overall, the majority of hospitals in Kuwait have rudimentary online presence and their websites require careful reassessment with respect to design, content, and user experience. The websites focus primarily on promoting services provided by the hospital rather than engaging and communicating with patients or providing evidence-based information.ConclusionsHealthcare organization and website developers should follow best-practices to improve their websites taking into consideration the quality, readability, objectivity, coverage and currency of the information as well as the design of their websites. Hospitals should leverage social media to gain outreach and better engagement with consumers. The websites should be offered in additional languages commonly spoken by people living in Kuwait. Efforts should be made to ensure that health information on hospital websites are evidence-based and checked by healthcare professionals.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaluating hospital websites in Kuwait to improve consumer engagement and access to health information: a cross-sectional analytical study

Alhuwail

AlMeraj

Boujarwah

2018

BMC Med Inform Decis Mak

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“…In addition to these aspects, readability is a vital component of health information and providing this material at an appropriate literacy level may positively influence patient experience. Existing readability scales such as the Gunning Fog Index (GFI), the Flesch Reading Ease Score (FRES), and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) have traditionally been used for assessing the formal education a person needs to understand the text on the first reading (5,6), and more recently health-care websites (5,7,8). To date however, there has been no evaluation of the readability of information on smartphone apps and how this might impact upon patients.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Readability of Information on Smartphone Apps for Total Hip Replacement and Total Knee Replacement Surgery Patients

Bahadori

Wainwright

Ahmed

2019

Journal of Patient Experience

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Background: Readability is a vital component of health information and providing this material at an appropriate literacy level may positively influence patient experience. Objective: To assess the readability of the information provided within total hip replacement and total knee replacement apps to understand more about the impact this could have on patients. Method: A systematic search was conducted across the 5 most popular smartphone app stores: iTunes, Google Play, Windows Mobile, Blackberry App World, and Nokia Ovi. Apps were identified for screening if they: targeted total hip replacement or total knee replacement patients; were free of charge; and were in English. App readability assessment was conducted independently by 3 reviewers using the Gunning Fog Index, the Flesch Reading Ease Score, and the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level. Results: Fifteen apps met the inclusion criteria. Only one app was found “easy to read” (My THR). Conclusion: Findings suggest that the overall readability of information provided is written at a level which is difficult for patients to comprehend. App developers should engage patients in the design process of their apps, in order to enhance patient experience and for the potential impact of these innovative health technologies to be truly realized.

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“…Many recently published articles show that medical websites are not pitched to the appropriate communication levels of the general public [6–10]. In this cross-sectional study, online patient education materials on the particular topic of congestive heart failure (CHF) were assessed by the authors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Readability Assessment of Online Patient Education Material on Congestive Heart Failure

Kher

Johnson

Griffith

2017

Advances in Preventive Medicine

109

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Background Online health information is being used more ubiquitously by the general population. However, this information typically favors only a small percentage of readers, which can result in suboptimal medical outcomes for patients. Objective The readability of online patient education materials regarding the topic of congestive heart failure was assessed through six readability assessment tools. Methods The search phrase “congestive heart failure” was employed into the search engine Google. Out of the first 100 websites, only 70 were included attending to compliance with selection and exclusion criteria. These were then assessed through six readability assessment tools. Results Only 5 out of 70 websites were within the limits of the recommended sixth-grade readability level. The mean readability scores were as follows: the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (9.79), Gunning-Fog Score (11.95), Coleman-Liau Index (15.17), Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) index (11.39), and the Flesch Reading Ease (48.87). Conclusion Most of the analyzed websites were found to be above the sixth-grade readability level recommendations. Efforts need to be made to better tailor online patient education materials to the general population.

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Evaluation of Quality and Readability of Health Information Websites Identified through India’s Major Search Engines

Cited by 27 publications

References 25 publications

Evaluating hospital websites in Kuwait to improve consumer engagement and access to health information: a cross-sectional analytical study

Evaluating hospital websites in Kuwait to improve consumer engagement and access to health information: a cross-sectional analytical study

Readability of Information on Smartphone Apps for Total Hip Replacement and Total Knee Replacement Surgery Patients

Readability Assessment of Online Patient Education Material on Congestive Heart Failure

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