The readability of Pediatric patient education materials on the World Wide Web

Donna M D'ALESSANDRO; Peggy Kingsley; Jill JOHNSON-WEST

doi:10.1001/archpedi.155.7.807

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The readability of Pediatric patient education materials on the World Wide Web

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

The readability of Pediatric patient education materials on the World Wide Web

Donna M D'ALESSANDRO, Peggy Kingsley and Jill JOHNSON-WEST

Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, Vol.155(7), pp.807-812

07/01/2001

DOI: 10.1001/archpedi.155.7.807

PMID: 11434848

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Abstract

Background: Literacy is a national and international problem. Studies have shown the readability of adult and pediatric patient education materials to be too high for average adults. Materials should be written at the 8th-grade level or lower. Objective: To determine the general readability of pediatric patient education materials designed for adults on the World Wide Web (WWW). Materials and Methods: GeneralPediatrics.com (http:// www.generalpediatrics.com) is a digital library serving the medical information needs of pediatric health care providers, patients, and families. Documents from 100 different authoritative Web sites designed for laypersons were evaluated using a built-in computer software readability formula (Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid reading levels) and hand calculation methods (Fry Formula and SMOG methods). Analysis of variance and paired t tests determined significance. Results: Eighty-nine documents constituted the final sample; they covered a wide spectrum of pediatric topics. The overall Flesch Reading Ease score was 57.0. The over-all mean Fry Formula was 12.0 (12th grade, 0 months of schooling) and SMOG was 12.2. The overall Flesch-Kincaid grade level was significantly lower (P[removed]

Biological and medical sciences

Medical sciences

Prevention and actions

Public health. Hygiene

Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine

Specific populations (family, woman, child, elderly...)

Teaching. Deontology. Ethics. Legislation

Details

Title: Subtitle: The readability of Pediatric patient education materials on the World Wide Web
Creators: Donna M D'ALESSANDRO - Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Iowa, 200 Hawkins Dr, Iowa City, IA 52242-1009, USA. donna-dalessandro@uiowa.edu
Peggy Kingsley - Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Iowa, Iowa City, United States
Jill JOHNSON-WEST - Department of Pediatrics, Children's Hospital of Iowa, Iowa City, United States
Resource Type: Journal article
Publication Details: Archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, Vol.155(7), pp.807-812
DOI: 10.1001/archpedi.155.7.807
PMID: 11434848
NLM abbreviation: Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med
ISSN: 1072-4710
eISSN: 1538-3628
Publisher: American Medical Association
Language: English
Date published: 07/01/2001
Academic Unit: Stead Family Department of Pediatrics; General Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine
Record Identifier: 9984383314502771

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