Words Matter: An Analysis of the Content and Readability of COVID-19 Information on Clinic Websites

Abstract

Objective: To examine content and readability of COVID-19 information on outpatient clinic websites in South Carolina.Participants: Thirty-three outpatient clinic websites.Methods: Using a multi-step search strategy, we located three COVID-19 information content sections from each website. Descriptive statistics were calculated for content section characteristics (focus, information source, target population/race, presence of graphics, mobilizing information). Flesch Reading Ease (FRE), Flesch Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL), and Simple Measure of Gobbledygook (SMOG) were used to calculate reading levels. Mann Whitney U and Kruskal Wallis tests were performed to examine readability levels by clinic type (primary care vs. specialty) and content section characteristics.Results: Twenty-six clinics offered COVID-19 information; 70 content sections across all 26 clinics were analyzed. Sections focused on COVID-19 clinic policies (48.4%), prevention (22.6%), testing (19.4%), and symptoms (9.7%). 93.5% lacked target population, 41.9% provided no information source, 38.7% had no graphics, and none mentioned racial/ethnic groups. MFRE = 54.3, MFKGL = 9.9, MSMOG = 9.5.Conclusion: COVID-19 information focused mainly on clinic policy and was written at a ninth-grade skill level. Findings suggest there is opportunity for clinics to update their online content to convey more plain language and sourced information, especially for high-risk groups.

Disparities in public understanding, attitudes, and intentions during the Covid-19 pandemic: The role of health literacy

“…In the past three years, there have since been dozens of studies examining the complexity of written health information about COVID-19 [20,[24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32][33]. The authors' research in July 2021 assessed communication when COVID-19 vaccine communication dominated public communication.…”

Elements for successful implementation of a clinic-based health literacy intervention

“…Nationally, only 12% of U.S. adults have proficient health literacy ( 6 ). Limited health literacy coupled with health and medical-related information written at a reading level beyond the recommended Grade 5–6 level ( 7 – 11 ), presents a great risk to public health. Issues of complicated, technical information ( 9 ), poor understanding of information ( 12 ), and information lacking reference to potentially high-risk age or racial and ethnic groups ( 7 – 10 ) have become even more apparent during the COVID-19 pandemic, during which clear and timely communication is critical ( 12 – 14 ).…”