ABSTRACT
Objectives:
While the
internet provides accessible medical information, often times it does not cater to the average
patient's
ability to understand medical text at a 6th and 8th grade
reading level, per
American Medical Association (AMA)/National Institute of
Health (NIH) recommendations. This study looks to analyze current online materials relating to
posterior cruciate ligament (PCL)
surgery and their
readability, understandability, and actionability.
Methods:
The top 100 Google searchs for "PCL
surgery" were compiled.
Research papers, procedural
protocols, advertisements, and videos were excluded from the
data collection. The
readability was examined using 7
algorithms the Flesch
Reading Ease Score, Gunning
Fog, Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level, Coleman-Liau Index,
SMOG index, Automated
Readability Index and the Linsear Write Formula. Two evaluators assessed Understandability and Actionability of the results with the
Patient Educational Materials Assessment Tool (PEMAT).
Outcome measures included
Reading Grade Level, Reader's age minimum and maximum, Understandability, and Actionability.
Results:
Of the 100 results, 16 were excluded based on the exclusion criteria. There was a statistically significant difference between the
readability of the results from all
algorithms and the current recommendation by AMA and NIH. Subgroup
analysis demonstrated that there was no difference in
readability as it pertained to which page they appeared on Google search. There was also no difference in
readability between individual websites versus organizational websites (
hospital and non-
hospital educational websites). Three articles were at the 8th grade recommended
reading level, and all three were from
healthcare institutes.
Conclusion:
There is a discrepancy in
readability between the recommendation of AMA/NIH and online educational materials regarding PCL surgeries, regardless of where they appear on Google and across different forums. The understandability and actionability were equally poor.
Future research can focus on the
readability and validity of video and
social media as they are becoming increasingly popular sources of medical information.