Patient-oriented online resources in pediatric surgery: Are we failing the readability test?

Prieto, James M.; West-Santos, Cassidy; Montgomery, Agnes S.; Patwardhan, Utsav M.; Lazar, David A.; Thangarajah, Hariharan; Bickler, Stephen W.; Huang, Eunice Y.; Fairbanks, Timothy; Ignacio, Romeo C.

doi:10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2019.11.018

Cited by 7 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…Each item is scored on a 5-point scale, yielding a minimum score of 16 and a maximum score of 80. 34 Websites were classified according to their final scores on the DISCERN instrument as very poor (16)(17)(18)(19)(20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28), poor (29)(30)(31)(32)(33)(34)(35)(36)(37)(38)(39)(40)(41), fair (42)(43)(44)(45)(46)(47)(48)(49)(50)(51)(52)(53)(54), good (55-67), or very good (68-80). The DISCERN has been widely used for assessment of online health information and has demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability.…”

Section: Quality Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Readability and Quality of Online Health Information Regarding Parathyroidectomy

et al. 2022

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Objective Assessment of the readability and quality of online health information regarding parathyroidectomy. Study Design Cross-sectional analysis. Setting Websites providing patient-oriented health information regarding parathyroidectomy obtained via the Google search engine. Methods The top 75 Google search results for “parathyroidectomy,”“parathyroid surgery,” and “parathyroid gland removal” were reviewed. Websites were categorized by website type and country of origin. Readability was assessed by Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook. Website quality was assessed per JAMA benchmark criteria and the DISCERN instrument. Results A total of 74 unique websites were evaluated. The mean readability of the assessed websites exceeded the recommended sixth-grade reading level on the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook ( P < .001). Readability did not vary significantly by website type. Websites originating from the United Kingdom were significantly more readable than those from the United States. The majority of assessed websites were of poor quality (n = 42, 56.8%) on assessment based on the DISCERN instrument. Quality varied significantly by website category on the JAMA benchmark criteria ( P < .001) and DISCERN score ( P = .049) with commercial websites receiving the highest scores. DISCERN score also varied significantly by country of origin ( P = .036) with UK sites receiving highest mean DISCERN scores. Conclusion Online health information regarding parathyroidectomy is largely of poor quality and is poorly readable for many patients. Institutions utilizing well-defined guidelines for development of patient educational resources may provide online health information of greater quality and readability.

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Section: Quality Assessmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Readability and Quality of Online Health Information Regarding Parathyroidectomy

et al. 2022

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“…This was a somewhat unexpected result, given that websites that fall under the treatment/therapy/medical category aim to provide health information to a wide audience. However, previous literature has shown that hospital websites tend to have decreased readability, which can make them difficult for individuals to understand [ 32 , 33 ]. Hence, it is extremely important that healthcare providers spend time with their patients to educate them on the importance of these features in making informed decisions regarding their health.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Searching for Social Media Addiction: A Content Analysis of Top Websites Found through Online Search Engines

McCarroll

Holtz

Meshi

2021

IJERPH

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Disordered social media use, often referred to as “social media addiction”, has not been officially recognized by medical bodies such as the American Psychiatric Association or the World Health Organization. However, websites still present information to laypeople on how to treat and manage social media addiction, which can pose the risk of spreading low quality or incorrect information. As such, we aimed to assess how the most popular social media addiction websites present information across multiple metrics. We conducted an in-depth online search to identify the top social media addiction websites in November 2019 (N = 23). Websites were separated into four distinct classifications: (1) treatment/therapy/medical; (2) informational; (3) news article; and (4) blog/essay. Based on previous website analysis research, three trained coders evaluated these websites on six metrics: (1) design; (2) credibility; (3) accessibility; (4) literacy; (5) engagement; and (6) social media addiction content. Design features were the top-rated metric across all websites, followed by credibility. Websites scored the lowest for the engagement and social media addiction content metrics. Across website classifications, scores for social media addiction content varied greatly, with blog/essay websites ranking the lowest and informational websites ranking the highest. Our findings provide necessary information for both patients and healthcare providers, apprising these individuals and the field about the current online health information landscape for disordered social media use.

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“…The validation and content changes suggested by the judges made the material complete and effective and increased its scientific rigor. It can be used in health education to improve the quality of material for the target audience (Francischinelli et al, 2015; Prieto et al, 2019; Tavares et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The authors believe that improving access to online resources and optimizing the readability of this information can result in an improvement in health education and patient comfort and are potential areas for improvement for children's hospitals across the country (Prieto et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A study in the United States evaluated 30 hospital websites with information on pediatric surgery and found that only three (2%) among 195 resources used language appropriate to the target population. The authors believe that improving access to online resources and optimizing the readability of this information can result in an improvement in health education and patient comfort and are potential areas for improvement for children's hospitals across the country (Prieto et al, 2019).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Construction and validation of a Brazilian educational comic book for pediatric perioperative care

Vasques

Silva

Avila

2020

Specialist Pediatric Nursing

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Purpose: Educational material can facilitate familiarization with the hospital and surgical contexts for children and guardians and minimize potential difficulties experienced during hospitalization. This study aimed to construct and validate a comic book for guiding children in perioperative care.Design and Methods: A descriptive study was conducted at a pediatric ward in a university hospital in Brazil. A content validity index with a concordance of 0.8 was used for validation. Results:The content was validated with the participation of 19 content judges (nurses, anesthesiologists, and surgeons); face validity was achieved with the participation of 22 parents and their respective children aged 7-12 years old.The contents of the comic book included perioperative care (hospitalization, fasting, surgical team, operating room, and anesthesia). Universal content validity indices of 0.89 and 0.99 were obtained for content and face validity, respectively. Free Portuguese educational material titled "Getting to know the Surgery Center" was created in the form of a 19-page comic book in print and digital formats. The comic book was face and content validated and considered relevant for children in perioperative care. The suggestions of the healthcare professional and families who participated contributed toward the final version of this educational comic book.Practice Implications: This study aimed to further the development of educational materials that help alleviate stress, fear, and anxiety among children awaiting surgery, as well as their parents/guardians. As such, it offers a positive and appropriate contribution to perioperative nursing. The study further contributes to a discussion on pediatric nursing, which goes beyond clinical care and procedure. In the context of pediatric surgery and the children themselves, the results indicate that the family must be included in the surgical process and that the language employed must be appropriate to the target audience. Our comic book can be used by nurses to develop similar resources for diverse needs.

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Patient-oriented online resources in pediatric surgery: Are we failing the readability test?

Cited by 7 publications

References 17 publications

Readability and Quality of Online Health Information Regarding Parathyroidectomy

Readability and Quality of Online Health Information Regarding Parathyroidectomy

Searching for Social Media Addiction: A Content Analysis of Top Websites Found through Online Search Engines

Construction and validation of a Brazilian educational comic book for pediatric perioperative care

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