Re: ‘Readability of online patient education material for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a cross-sectional health literacy study’

Lim, Sean-Tee; Johnston, Sean

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2020.09.001

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 10 publications

(10 reference statements)

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“…However, by contrast, the respondents' use of government sites during the outbreak generated feelings of frustration and complications with performing various actions online, such as filling out forms and submitting materials. This finding is consistent with previous work that examined the uses and experiences of using government websites for coronavirus information and related services and found a low degree of satisfaction, technical difficulties and other complications (Caballero et al, 2020;Jayasinghe et al, 2020;Lim et al, 2021). It can be assumed that these difficulties were due, among other things, to the short time available of setting up, organizing and preparing informational materials in a wide and accessible manner.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Information needs and seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak

Yavetz

Aharony

Sofer

2022

AJIM

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PurposeThe aim of this study is to examine the information needs and information seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in 2020, with an emphasis on the dissemination of digital information by government agencies.Design/methodology/approachThe research approach underlying this investigation is of the “case study” type, employing semi-structured, in-depth interviews conducted with 24 Israeli citizens regarding their perceptions and experiences with government information and government services during the first months of the coronavirus.FindingsThe findings of this study reveal that most participants indicated feelings of media fatigue as a result of increased exposure to news media and social media, to the point of experiencing information overload. Second, participants described feeling a lack of clear information and poor access to accurate health and official information at the outset of the COVID-19 crisis in Israel. Third, participants in the authors’ study noted that most of the information to which they were exposed about the virus came to them through communal connections such as friends and family, via social media and messaging apps like WhatsApp. In general, the participants expressed satisfaction with the quality and availability of the data and extensive information of government ministries on social networks, together with a lack of satisfaction due to difficulties in usage and a lack of clear information on traditional government websites.Originality/valueThe findings present the information acquisition and the experience of citizens in situations of national emergencies and crises, in a new light, through a focus on the dissemination of government, health and news information.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Information needs and seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak

Yavetz

Aharony

Sofer

2022

AJIM

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“…In fact, information on COVID-19 in the U.S., the United Kingdom, Canada, and Ireland (Basch et al 2020;Worrall et al 2020;Kruse et al 2021) and on COVID-19 testing (Garcia et al 2021) is presented at a level that is difficult for the average person to understand. Consequently, scholars have called for more studies of local variation in information sources (Lim et al 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Information on COVID-19 Vaccination: Readability of Online Sources and Newspapers in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines

Costantini

Fuse

2022

Journalism and Media

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To address the COVID-19 pandemic, as with other infectious diseases, a key intervention is vaccination. Health communications are thus of vital importance for informing the public on the benefits and risks of vaccines. This in turn makes the readability of media content fundamental. Previous studies of COVID-19-related information have found the readability of online information considerably more difficult than recommended. However, studies on the readability of information related to COVID-19 vaccination in Asian contexts have yet to be carried out. Furthermore, especially in the case of the current pandemic, health information is communicated by a variety of information channels, including the internet and mass media. This paper investigates the readability of textual information on COVID-19 vaccination found online and in newspaper articles in parts of Asia where English is one of the main languages, namely Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines. Readability was assessed using a set of readability tests (Flesch–Kincaid Reading Ease, Flesch–Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog Index, Coleman–Liau Index, and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Grade level). It was found that a low proportion of URLs scored within recommended readability thresholds, and did so consistently across locations and types of sources. Furthermore, a relatively low proportion of web searches returned information from local sources; most URLs linked to sources outside of Singapore, Hong Kong, or the Philippines. Further, local online and newspaper sources scored similarly poorly on readability on average compared to non-local sources. Understanding of fast-evolving health communications concerning COVID-19 vaccination encompasses information about vaccine development and deployment from other locations, as well as locally. Nevertheless, these findings indicated a fairly low proportion of local sources among the top search results, and relatively low (i.e., difficult-to-read) readability scores for top search results and for local newspapers. An important issue for health communications strategies addressing COVID-19 vaccination will therefore be to consider different types of media sources in order to achieve the right mix of local and non-local sources while also ensuring appropriate readability.

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Linguistic fairness in the U.S.: The case of multilingual public health information about COVID-19

Blasí

Mishra

García

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Lack of high-quality multilingual resources can contribute to disparities in the availability of medical and public health information. The COVID-19 pandemic has required rapid dissemination of essential guidance to diverse audiences and therefore provides an ideal context in which to study linguistic fairness in the U.S. Here we report a cross-sectional study of official non-English information about COVID-19 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration, and the health departments of all 50 U.S. states. We find that multilingual information is limited in many states, such that almost half of all individuals not proficient in English or Spanish lack access to state-specific COVID-19 guidance in their primary language. Although Spanish-language information is widely available, we show using automated readability formulas that most materials do not follow standard recommendations for clear communication in medicine and public health. In combination, our results provide a snapshot of linguistic unfairness across the U.S. and highlight an urgent need for the creation of plain language, multilingual resources about COVID-19.

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Re: ‘Readability of online patient education material for the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19): a cross-sectional health literacy study’

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

Information needs and seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak

Information needs and seeking behaviors of Israeli citizens during the COVID-19 outbreak

Health Information on COVID-19 Vaccination: Readability of Online Sources and Newspapers in Singapore, Hong Kong, and the Philippines

Linguistic fairness in the U.S.: The case of multilingual public health information about COVID-19

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