Important considerations when selecting, applying, and interpreting readability formulas

Jou, Tzuchen; Wang, Lih-Wern; Miller, Michael J.

doi:10.1016/j.japh.2017.06.003

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

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“…From the top 100 sources, those determined to be patient-facing information (groups 4 and 5 below) were analyzed using the following six readability formulas: Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Flesch-Kincaid Readability Ease, Gunning Fog Index, Simple Measure of Gobbledygook Index, Coleman-Liau Index, Linsear Write Formula, and Automated Readability Index (Table 1 ). 19 Scores were averaged across the websites, and score-specific outcome measures were assigned. After determining each, the mean and SD for each index among the sources was calculated.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quality Assessment of Online Resources for Gender-affirming Surgery

Berry,

Fazilat,

Churukian

et al. 2023

Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery - Global Open

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Background: As visibility of the transgender patient population and utilization of online resources increases, it is imperative that web-based gender-affirming surgery (GAS) materials for patients are readable, accessible, and of high quality. Methods: A search trends analysis was performed to determine frequency of GAS-related searches over time. The top 100 most common results for GAS-related terms were analyzed using six readability formulas. Accessibility of patient-facing GAS sources was determined by categorizing types of search results. Frequency of article types was compared in low- and high-population dense areas. Quality was assigned to GAS web-based sources using the DISCERN score. Results: Search engine trend data demonstrates increasing occurrence of searches related to GAS. Readability scores of the top 100 online sources for GAS were discovered to exceed recommended levels for patient proficiency. Availability of patient-facing online information related to GAS was found to be 60%, followed by information provided by insurance companies (17%). Differences in availability of online resources in varying dense cities were found to be minimal. The average quality of sources determined by the DISCERN score was found to be 3, indicating “potential important shortcomings.” Conclusions: Despite increasing demand for web-based GAS information, the readability of online resources related to GAS was found to be significantly greater than the grade level of proficiency recommended for patients. A high number of nonpatient-facing search results appear in response to GAS search terms. Quality sources are still difficult for patients to find, as search results have a high incidence of low-quality resources.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%