Readability and quality of Wikipedia articles on pelvic floor disorders

Handler, Stephanie J.; Eckhardt, Sarah; Takashima, Yoko; Jackson, Ashaki M; Truong, Christina; Yazdany, Tajnoos

doi:10.1007/s00192-021-04776-0

Cited by 14 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…Previous studies have investigated readability for a relatively small sample of disease- or health-related English Wikipedia pages [ 10 , 18 , 19 , 34 - 36 ]. All studies consistently found that these are difficult to read and require at least a college degree or higher level of education.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Readability of English, German, and Russian Disease-Related Wikipedia Pages: Automated Computational Analysis

Gordejeva¹,

Zowalla²,

Pobiruchin³

et al. 2022

J Med Internet Res

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Background Wikipedia is a popular encyclopedia for health- and disease-related information in which patients seek advice and guidance on the web. Yet, Wikipedia articles can be unsuitable as patient education materials, as investigated in previous studies that analyzed specific diseases or medical topics with a comparatively small sample size. Currently, no data are available on the average readability levels of all disease-related Wikipedia pages for the different localizations of this particular encyclopedia. Objective This study aimed to analyze disease-related Wikipedia pages written in English, German, and Russian using well-established readability metrics for each language. Methods Wikipedia database snapshots and Wikidata metadata were chosen as resources for data collection. Disease-related articles were retrieved separately for English, German, and Russian starting with the main concept of Human Diseases and Disorders (German: Krankheit; Russian: Заболевания человека). In the case of existence, the corresponding International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision (ICD-10), codes were retrieved for each article. Next, the raw texts were extracted and readability metrics were computed. Results The number of articles included in this study for English, German, and Russian Wikipedia was n=6127, n=6024, and n=3314, respectively. Most disease-related articles had a Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) score <50.00, signaling difficult or very difficult educational material (English: 5937/6125, 96.93%; German: 6004/6022, 99.7%; Russian: 2647/3313, 79.9%). In total, 70% (7/10) of the analyzed articles could be assigned an ICD-10 code with certainty (English: 4235/6127, 69.12%; German: 4625/6024, 76.78%; Russian: 2316/3314, 69.89%). For articles with ICD-10 codes, the mean FRE scores were 28.69 (SD 11.00), 20.33 (SD 9.98), and 38.54 (SD 13.51) for English, German, and Russian, respectively. A total of 9 English ICD-10 chapters (11 German and 10 Russian) showed significant differences: chapter F (FRE 23.88, SD 9.95; P<.001), chapter E (FRE 25.14, SD 9.88; P<.001), chapter H (FRE 30.04, SD 10.57; P=.049), chapter I (FRE 30.05, SD 9.07; P=.04), chapter M (FRE 31.17, 11.94; P<.001), chapter T (FRE 32.06, SD 10.51; P=.001), chapter A (FRE 32.63, SD 9.25; P<.001), chapter B (FRE 33.24, SD 9.07; P<.001), and chapter S (FRE 39.02, SD 8.22; P<.001). Conclusions Disease-related English, German, and Russian Wikipedia articles cannot be recommended as patient education materials because a major fraction is difficult or very difficult to read. The authors of Wikipedia pages should carefully revise existing text materials for readers with a specific interest in a disease or its associated symptoms. Special attention should be given to articles on mental, behavioral, and neurodevelopmental disorders (ICD-10 chapter F) because these articles were most difficult to read in comparison with other ICD-10 chapters. Wikipedia readers should be supported by editors providing a short and easy-to-read summary for each article.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a recent study, Handler et al [ 36 ] compared the readability of Wikipedia articles on pelvic floor disorders with that of patient education leaflets. The authors collected 30 Wikipedia articles and 29 leaflets.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Readability of English, German, and Russian Disease-Related Wikipedia Pages: Automated Computational Analysis

Gordejeva¹,

Zowalla²,

Pobiruchin³

et al. 2022

J Med Internet Res

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“…Neben der Verständlichkeit durch Visualisierungen ist auch die sprachliche Verständlichkeit ein Qualitätskriterium. Sie ist kein Bestandteil des Modified-DISCERN-Index und wird in Qualitätsstudien typischerweise ergänzend mit dem Flesch-Reading-Ease-Index erfasst [ 38 – 40 ]. Gemäß diesem etablierten Messinstrument mit dem Wertebereich von 0 (sehr schwere Verständlichkeit) bis 100 (sehr leichte Lesbarkeit und Verständlichkeit) ist die textliche Verständlichkeit umso größer, je kürzer die verwendeten Sätze und Wörter sind (Tab.…”

Section: Ergebnisseunclassified

“…(2015; [ 36 ]) Kardiovaskuläre Krankheiten 33,00* 28,00–45,00 – 14 Vorliegende Studie Verhütung 33,21 24,67–44,33 37 – Azer (2014; [ 35 ]) Gastroenterologie und Hepatologie 34,31 15,60–43,60 26 – Handler et al. (2021; [ 38 ]) Beckenbodenerkrankungen 34,43 21,00–43,00 33 – Simpson et al. (2018; [ 39 ]) Gehörverlust 35,63 25,00–44,00 – 13 Suwannakhan et al.…”

Section: Diskussionunclassified

Verhütung in der deutschsprachigen Wikipedia: Eine Inhalts- und Qualitätsanalyse

Döring

Lehmann

Schumann-Doermer³

2022

Bundesgesundheitsbl

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Zusammenfassung Hintergrund Jugendliche und Erwachsene beziehen Informationen über Verhütung heute oft per Internet, vor allem über die Online-Enzyklopädie Wikipedia, da Google-Suchen meist Wikipedia-Einträge als Toptreffer liefern. Ziel der Arbeit Vor diesem Hintergrund ist es Ziel des vorliegenden Beitrags, erstmals Inhalte und Qualität von Wikipedia-Artikeln über Verhütungsmethoden systematisch zu analysieren. Geprüft werden dabei 5 zentrale Qualitätsdimensionen: die Ausprägung der Korrektheit (Forschungsfrage F1), der Vollständigkeit (F2), der Neutralität (F3), der Verständlichkeit (F4) und der Aktualität (F5) der Verhütungsinformationen sowie auf dieser Basis auch ihre Gesamtqualität (F6). Material und Methoden Es wurde eine Stichprobe aller deutschsprachigen Wikipedia-Artikel zu allen Verhütungsmethoden gebildet (N = 25). Diese Artikel wurden mittels eines auf der Basis des Forschungsstandes entwickelten und reliabilitätsgeprüften Codebuchs von 3 unabhängigen, geschulten Codierenden analysiert. Die Datenanalyse erfolgte mit SPSS. Die Studie ist präregistriert und alle Daten, Materialien und Analyseskripte sind öffentlich verfügbar. Ergebnisse Es zeigte sich, dass die 25 Wikipedia-Artikel zu Verhütungsmethoden in ihrer inhaltlichen Qualität stark variierten. Während sie hinsichtlich Korrektheit (F1) und Neutralität (F3) im Mittel gute Qualität aufwiesen, erreichten sie hinsichtlich Vollständigkeit (F2), Verständlichkeit (F4) und Aktualität (F5) nur mittelmäßige Werte, woraus sich dann auch eine moderate Gesamtqualität ergab (F6). Diskussion Weitere Forschung sowie Praxismaßnahmen sind notwendig, um die Qualität von Verhütungsinformationen in der Wikipedia und in anderen sozialen Medien noch besser einschätzen und zielgerichteter verbessern zu können.

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“…Previous studies have emphasized the suboptimal quality of online urologic information regarding pelvic floor disorders and incontinence. 7,8 To our knowledge, there are no studies evaluating the online information on laparoscopic or robotic sacrocolpopexy. The content and readability of information regarding both laparoscopic and robotic sacrocolpopexy on the internet are thus unknown.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Content and Readability of Robotic and Laparoscopic Sacrocolpopexy Information Online

Lim

Wang

et al. 2022

Female Pelvic Med Reconstr Surg

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ImportanceApical pelvic organ prolapse is a common condition that affects women. Currently, sacrocolpopexy is considered the criterion standard surgical treatment, with an increasing preference for minimally invasive techniques.ObjectiveIn this study, the content and readability of select internet pages describing robotic and laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy were evaluated.Study DesignUsing an online key word planner, the phrases “robotic sacrocolpopexy” and “laparoscopic sacrocolpopexy” were determined to be the most popular search terms. These terms were systematically browsed in incognito mode in 3 of the most popular web search engines: Google, Yahoo, and Bing. Links that were nontext primary, duplicate, irrelevant, and non-English were excluded. The Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level and Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease indices were used to assess readability.ResultsThe average readability of all sites was 12.9, requiring at least a 12th-grade reading level, which is significantly higher than the recommended American Medical Association/National Institutes of Health (AMA/NIH) level of sixth-grade or below. One hundred percent of all analyzed sites were above this recommended sixth-grade reading level. There was no significant difference between mean grade level or reading ease score from the type of web source (P = 0.32 and 0.34, respectively), approach of surgery (P = 0.91, 0.70), or specialty (P = 0.48, 0.36).ConclusionsAlmost all websites require at least a high school education to properly comprehend, regardless of source or specialty. It is important that health care providers be aware of available information, so they may direct patients to specific resources that are personally validated or provide in-office materials at an appropriate reading level.

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Readability and quality of Wikipedia articles on pelvic floor disorders

Cited by 14 publications

References 22 publications

Readability of English, German, and Russian Disease-Related Wikipedia Pages: Automated Computational Analysis

Readability of English, German, and Russian Disease-Related Wikipedia Pages: Automated Computational Analysis

Verhütung in der deutschsprachigen Wikipedia: Eine Inhalts- und Qualitätsanalyse

Assessing the Content and Readability of Robotic and Laparoscopic Sacrocolpopexy Information Online

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