The Reading Level of Government and Voluntary Health Organization Smoking Cessation Websites: A Descriptive Analysis

Abstract

Background: The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (USDHHS) recommends that health material be written at or below a sixth-grade reading level to ensure readability. Purpose: The aim of this study was to investigate the readability of online smoking cessation materials from several government and voluntary health organizations. Methods: A purposive sample of publicly accessible governmental and voluntary health organization websites was selected. The readability of the websites' smoking cessation information was estimated using the previously validated SMOG readability formula, which determined reading level by correlating the number of polysyllabic words. Results: Of the 55 websites included in the analysis, none had cessation information at the USDHHS's recommended reading level. The material ranged in reading level from seventh grade to a third year in college. Discussion: The findings indicate that the online cessation materials need to be modified in order to reach recommended reading levels. Translation to Health Education Practice: This study can be of practical use to Health Educators when designing, modifying, and evaluating smoking cessation materials. Several free, online government resources are available to assist Health Educators in using simple, non-polysyllable words to ensure that smoking cessation materials are written at the recommended reading levels.

Monkeypox Knowledge Investigation and Knowledge Gap Analysis: An Online Cross-Sectional Survey in China

“…However, it is suggested that their impact might be overestimated due to the higher reading level they require, potentially aligning them more with audiences possessing higher education levels. 50 Furthermore, our results indicate that traditional media exposure does not significantly predict monkeypox knowledge, which may be due to the representative sample of our study. The effectiveness of traditional media in communicating knowledge might still be significant for specific groups, like the middle-aged and older populations.…”

Readability of selected governmental and popular health organization websites on Covid-19 public health information: A descriptive analysis

“…There are several validated reading assessment tools such as the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) [14], the Flesch-Kincaid grade level, and the Gunning Fox index Because of a simpler interpretation and the easy availability of the SMOG tool, we prefered this to other readability tools. In addition, the SMOG tool was applied to an earlier study [10]. The SMOG readability is considered accurate and is highly correlated with other readability formulas; as such, SMOG has been recommended by the U.S. National Cancer Institute for determining the reading level of informational pamphlets about cancer [15].…”

“…Furthermore, it is important, collectively, that we create the degree of readability of Covid-19 online via governmental and international health organizations. Nonetheless, recent works on smoking cessation websites did not specifically concentrate on supporting evidence-based activities such as making health materials readable for those with poor literacy abilities [10-13]. Due to its new and developing features, minimal work was carried out.…”

“…Due to its new and developing features, minimal work was carried out. As such, this research builds on the findings of previous studies to assess the degree of online reading of Covid-19 materials from the websites of many governmental and international health organizations [10]. The readability of these resources can be measured using the Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) which estimates the years of education an individual need to have to read a piece of text [14].…”

A Comprehensive Analysis of How Environmental Risks of Breast Cancer Are Portrayed on the Internet

“…36 The United States Department of Health and Human Services recommends health information be available at a sixth grade reading level, 37,38 but evidence suggests that readability is usually at a high-school level. For example, Internet-based patient education for mammography screening is written at a high school reading level.…”